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Effectiveness of Enhancing Optimism Skills on the Locus of Control of High School Students in Gorgan

The main purpose of this research was investigating the effectiveness of enhancing optimism skills in the "locus of control" in high school students. This was an experimental study with pretest- posttest control group design. The sample contained 40 students that were randomly selected. Before intervention (independent variable), the two groups completed the pretest questionnaires of "Rutter Locus of Control" and "Oxford Happiness". The subjects were divided into two groups of external and internal "locus of control" based on the acquired grade in Rutter test. Then, the subjects were randomly replaced in the two control and experiment groups (20 each). Next, the subjects were taught optimism skills for about one hour during 8 sessions. These skills contained optimism with regard to self, others and life. A week after intervention, both groups were tested again through the same questionnaires. The data were analyzed using T- test for independent groups on pretest and posttest. The results indicated that the difference between the two groups was significant (p<0.007). Furthermore, the finding confirmed the usefulness and efficacy of training optimism skills in internalizating the locus of control in high school students.