Cognitive distortions

People with social anxiety face barriers to treatment under the pretext of avoiding interaction and the discomfort of self-disclosure. Using remote health services may be an alternative, but there is no research evidence on the effectiveness of Internet-based methods in social anxiety.Therefore, this study aimed to compare the effectiveness of face-to-face and Internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy on cognitive distortions and emotion regulation in adolescents with social anxiety.The present study was a field experiment. A total of 51 adolescents with social anxiety disorder were selected by cluster sampling method and randomly assigned to three face-to-face, Internet-based, and control therapy groups. Three groups were interviewed at the beginning and end of the study and answered the social anxiety screening questionnaire (SASA) Levpušček & Videc (2008 ), cognitive distortion questionnaire (CDQ) Beck and Wismann(1978), and emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ) Jojn and Gross(2003).The two experimental groups underwent therapeutic intervention during ten weekly sessions.The results of ANKOVA analysis showed that both forms of intervention effectively reduced cognitive distortions, improved emotion regulation, and reduced symptoms of social anxiety.Also, the results of MANKOVA analysis showed that in the components of the need to please others and repression, face-to-face intervention only was effective.None of the intervention methods significantly affected the two components of success and perfectionism. In general, in all variables, the impact of the face-to-face intervention was greater than the Internet-based intervention.These results can support the use of Internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy for adolescents with social anxiety disorder who, due to circumstances, are unable to benefit from face-to-face treatment

  COVID-19 has shown a high rate of spread and a high death rate. This disease puts the mental health of people in a different social class at risk. The present study was a comparison of meta-worry, rumination and cognitive distortions in COVID-19 pations recovered and normal individuals. Causal-comparative model was hired in the present study. The population of this study included all COVID-19 patients recovered as well as normal people referring to Tonekabon health centers in the period of July and August 2021, of which 120 people were selected according to conveniense sampling. The research instruments were meta-worry Questionnaire (MWQ), the ruminative response scale (RRS) and cognitive distortions scale (CDS). To analyze the collected data, a MANOVA was run using SPSS-24 software. Data analysis reveal that there were differences between meta-worry, mental rumination and cognitive distortions in the two groups of people who recovered from COVID-19 and normal people; those who recovered from COVID-19 indicated more meta-worry, mental rumination and cognitive distortions than normal people. It can be said that based on the results of this research indicating the higher level of rumination, cognitive distortion and meta-worry in people recovered from COVID-19, it is possible to reduce these variables by teaching adaptive strategies to recovered people to deal with meta- worry, rumination and cognitive distortion.

Objective: Insomnia, marked by difficulty falling or staying asleep, affects many students and contributes to increased worry, cognitive distortions, and depression, exacerbating their overall well-being and academic performance. This study evaluates the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in reducing worry, cognitive distortions, and depression in students with insomnia symptoms. Method: The research utilized a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest control group. The statistical population consisted of university students in Ardabil Province during the 2023-2024 academic year. A total of 34 students were purposefully selected based on predefined criteria (e.g., insomnia symptoms) and then randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n = 17) or the control group (n = 17). The research instruments included the Insomnia Severity Index (2001), the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (1990), the Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire (2004), and the Beck Depression Inventory (1996). The intervention group participated in eight weekly sessions of 90-minute MBSR, while the control group received no intervention. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance with SPSS-27. Results: The results indicated that MBSR significantly reduced worry (F = 46.86), rejection in interpersonal relationships (F = 30.07), unrealistic expectations in relationships (F = 41.54), misperception in interpersonal relationships (F = 30.38), and depression (F = 41.20) among students with insomnia symptoms (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The results highlight the potential of MBSR as a valuable non-pharmacological intervention for managing insomnia and associated psychological challenges in academic settings. Given its effectiveness, further research could explore long-term benefits and applicability across diverse student populations and settings.