Two group programmes helped burned-out schoolgirls put things off less, equally well
Who it’s about: Students
- Helped
Ten group sessions on values, accepting hard thoughts and making plans helped girls put things off less than nothing.
- Action: Clarify what matters to youtested
- Action: Notice the unpleasant feeling and start anywaytested
- Rule: Practise with a groupused
Small randomised trial of 45 schoolgirls in Iran burned out by school · vs girls who got nothing until the study ended · they rated themselves
- Helped
Eight group sessions on unhelpful thoughts and solving problems also helped girls put things off less than nothing.
- Action: Challenge unhelpful thoughtstested
- Action: Solve problems step by steptested
- Rule: Practise with a groupused
Small randomised trial of 45 schoolgirls in Iran burned out by school · vs girls who got nothing until the study ended · they rated themselves
- No difference
The values sessions worked no better for putting things off than the sessions on unhelpful thoughts.
Small randomised trial of 45 schoolgirls in Iran burned out by school · vs eight group sessions on unhelpful thoughts · they rated themselves
The study
Who took part
45 secondary-school girls, about 16 to 18, in Isfahan, Iran, chosen because they felt burned out by school. 15 were in each group.
What they did
One group had 10 group sessions of 60 to 75 minutes, with homework. They worked on values, letting hard thoughts pass, accepting feelings and making plans. Another group had 8 group sessions of 90 minutes of therapy that challenges unhelpful thoughts. It also taught how to solve problems step by step. The third group got nothing until the study ended.
What happened
Both programmes beat the waiting group on putting things off. They did not differ from each other. The authors say the effects held two months later. But parts of the paper are garbled, so we can't give those numbers or sizes.
Source
Development of a package of reality-oriented acceptance and commitment therapy (RACT) and comparing its effectiveness with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on procrastination, self-efficacy and academic competence of students with academic burnout. (2022)
DOI: 10.61838/kman.jayps.3.3.18 (opens in a new tab)Tools in this study
Action2
Notice the unpleasant feeling and start anywayEmotion regulation: name, accept or tolerate the feeling a task brings, then begin.
Action5
Challenge unhelpful thoughtsCognitive restructuring of beliefs such as perfectionism or catastrophising.
Action2
Solve problems step by stepStructured problem solving: define, list options, choose, try, review.
