The Effect of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Reducing Perfectionism and the Cognitive Error of Thought-Action Fusion in Women with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Authors
feresheh reza
javanshir asadi
arastoo mirani
afsaneh Khajevand Khoshli
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy on reducing perfectionism and thought-action fusion in women with obsessive-compulsive disorder with a two-month follow-up. The research method was a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest-follow-up and control group. Among the women referring to Sarohana Clinic in Pasdaran district of Tehran, 30 were purposively selected and randomly assigned to two groups of 15 (cognitive-behavioral therapy and control). The research instruments included the Ahvaz Perfectionism Questionnaire, the Thought-Action Fusion Scale (TAFS), Spielberger's Overt and Covert Anxiety Questionnaire, and the Maudsley Checklist. The cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention was implemented in 8 weekly 90-minute group sessions. The post-test was conducted immediately and the follow-up was conducted two months after the end of the sessions. The data were analyzed by multivariate and univariate analysis of covariance. The findings showed that cognitive-behavioral therapy significantly reduced perfectionism, thought-action fusion (moral dimensions, possibility for self and others), and anxiety at post-test and two-month follow-up, and these effects remained stable until the follow-up stage. The present study showed that cognitive-behavioral therapy can be used as an effective and sustainable intervention in reducing harmful cognitive variables in women with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Keywords
cognitive-behavioral therapy
Perfectionism
thought-action fusion
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
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