The Impact of Social Group Work Based on Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Approach on the Level of Depression in Soldiers

Abstract

Background: Maintaining physical health and psychological readiness in military personnel and soldiers is very important. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effects of social group work based on cognitive-behavioral therapy approach on the soldiers’ level of depression. Methods: This is an experimental study conducted in 2016 - 2017. 60 soldiers of a military setting with mild to severe depression were randomly selected. Then, the soldiers were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. Soldiers in the intervention group participated in cognitive-behavioral group therapy sessions that were conducted by a master of social worker who was trained. The level of depression was assessed before and after intervention with Beck depression inventory. Data were analyzed with statistical software SPSS (version: 16) at the level of P < 0.05. Results: Independent t-test showed that the depression scores in the intervention (22.66 ± 9.49) and control (24.16 ± 7.64) groups had no significant difference in the pre-test stage (P = 0.503). However, the depression scores in the intervention (16.26 ± 30) and control (21.90 ± 8.46) groups were significantly different in the post-test stage (P = 0.002). The paired t-test showed that depressive symptoms significantly reduced in the intervention group in the post-test stage (P < 0.0001), but this difference was not significant in the control group (P = 0.286). The results of analysis of covariance showed that cognitive-behavioral group therapy training had a significant effect on reducing depression levels (P < 0.01). Conclusions: The result of this study showed that social group work based on cognitive-behavioral therapy approach could reduce levels of depression in soldiers. Further studies on long-term effects of this intervention are recommended.