Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Training and Assertiveness Training on Resilience and Clinical Symptoms of Students with Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Background: Generalized anxiety disorder is among the most common psychiatric disorders. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of emotion regulation training and assertiveness training on resilience and clinical symptoms of students with generalized anxiety disorder. Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study with a control group. The statistical population included all 16-18 years old male high school students in Karaj who were studying in the academic year 2019-2020, of whom 75 were selected by multi-stage random sampling and assigned to two groups of 25. Participants in experimental group 1 received eight sessions of assertiveness training for 60 minutes per week. Participants in experimental group 2 received five sessions of emotion regulation training for 60 minutes per week, and participants in the control group did not receive any intervention. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Resilience questionnaires were used to collect data. Results: Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) showed that both assertiveness and emotion regulation training programs increased resilience and reduced clinical signs of generalized anxiety disorder in the experimental groups (P < 0.001). Moreover, there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two training programs. Conclusion: It is suggested that assertiveness and emotion regulation training be provided for students and included in their curriculum, to enhance assertiveness and emotion regulation skills.