The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-Based Training on Psychological Capital and Bullying Among Male Students with Low Discipline Scores

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Male students with low discipline scores are more likely to engage in bullying behaviors and have low psychological capital. Therefore, the aim of this research was to determine the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy-based training on psychological capital and bullying among male students with low discipline scores.

Methodology: This research was a quasi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The population of the present research was all 12th grade male students with low discipline scores in Meshkinshahr city in the 2024-5 academic years, which 40 people of them were selected as samples by purposive sampling method. The selected samples were divided into two experimental and control groups by simple random sampling method with the help of lottery. The experimental group received 8 sessions of 90 minute for eight weeks received acceptance and commitment therapy-based trainingof Hayes & Strosahl (2010), and the control group did not received any intervention during this time. Data were collected with the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (Luthans et al., 2007) and Bullying Questionnaire (Espelage & Holt, 2001) and its data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance method in SPSS-24 software.

Findings: The results of this study showed that acceptance and commitment therapy-based training reduced bullying and increased psychological capital (and two components of optimism and self-efficacy) among male students with low discipline scores (P<0.05), but had no significant effect on the other two components of psychological capital, namely resilience and hope (P>0.05).

Conclusion: According to the results of this research, school counselors and psychologists can use the method of acceptance and commitment therapy-based training to increase psychological capital and reduce bullying among male students from vulnerable groups, including those with low discipline scores.