The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Nulliparous Pregnant Women

Background: It is necessary to help pregnant women to solve pregnancy problems by identifying the factors affecting depression, anxiety, and stress. objectives: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in reducing depression, anxiety, and stress levels among nulliparous pregnant women. Method: This semi-experimental study was conducted based on a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population of this study included all pregnant women referred to hospitals in Tehran, Iran, during 2019. In total, 34 eligible volunteers were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to two groups of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and control. The experimental group participated in nine 120-min acceptance and commitment therapy sessions. The data were collected using depression, anxiety, and stress questionnaire (Lovibond and Lovibond, 1995). Following that, the obtained data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 22) using repeated measures analysis of variance. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The results showed that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy significantly decreased depression (P 0.001), anxiety (P 0.001), and stress (P 0.001) in nulliparous pregnant women. Conclusion: It can be concluded that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy was effective in reducing depression, anxiety, and stress levels among nulliparous pregnant women. Moreover, it can be used to improve the psychological problems of pregnant women