THE COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MINDFULNESS AND EMOTION REGULATION TRAINING ON MENTAL HEALTH IN CHEMICAL WEAPON VICTIMS

Abstract

Introduction: Poor mental health is one of the psychological problems in chemical weapon victims. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of mindfulness and emotion regulation training on the mental health of chemical weapon victims. Method: An experimental design was conducted (pre-test, post-test and follow-up) with two experimental and one control groups. A sample of 47 chemical weapon victims with high scores in General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) in Sardasht city were randomly selected and assigned to 3 groups: 1-Mindfulness training group 2- Emotion regulation training group and 3- Control group. The first 2 groups were received Mindfulness-based stress reduction training and emotion regulation training respectively, while no training provided for control group. Data were gathered, using the General Health Questionnaire. Analysis of variance with repeated measure was used for analyzing the data. Results: Results indicated that the average scores of mental health were significantly decreased in mindfulness training group rather than emotion regulation training group and in emotion regulation group rather than control group, in both post-test and follow-up stages. Results were also shown significantly decrease trends for somatic signs, anxiety, depression and social dysfunction scores in mindfulness and emotion regulation training groups, in both post-test and follow-up stages. Conclusion: Results confirmed the effectiveness of mindfulness and emotion regulation training for improving mental health status in chemical weapon victims. Therefore, mindfulness and emotion regulation could be suggested for improvement of mental health among chemical weapon victims