Effectiveness of emotional-rational therapy in reducing depressive symptoms and Improving Self- Esteem among a sample of students with low emotional-behavioral traits

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of emotional-rational therapy in reducing depressive symptoms and improving self- esteem among a sample of students with low emotional-behavioral traits. The sample of the study consisted of (24) participant of the students of twelve male grade in special school from Amman Second Educational District, who agreed to participate in the study, from (29) male students, whom showed the lowest scores on emotional-behavioral traits BERS-2, from (112) male students of twelve grade in the year 2014. Participants were randomly distributed in to two groups: one experimental and one control group. In the experimental group (12 subjects), the participants received an emotional-rational therapy. The program consisted of (12) sessions, and lasted for four weeks, three sessions a week. Whereas, the participants in the control group (12 subjects) did not receive any treatment. The participants in the two groups responded to Beck depression Inventory and self- esteem scale pre and post test. The results indicated the effectiveness of emotional-rational therapy in reducing depressive symptoms and improving self-esteem. The results revealed significant differences in favor of experimental group on depressive symptoms and self esteem.