The Effectiveness of Reality Therapy in Improving Students' Loneliness and Academic Achievement

Abstract

Aim: The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of reality therapy in improving students' loneliness and academic achievement. Methods: The present quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all female students in the first year of high schools in Kermanshah in the academic year of 2015-2016. The research sample consisted of 30 female students who had the highest loneliness and the lowest academic achievement after performing the questionnaire. We randomly selected them and assigned them to experimental and control groups (15 students per group). The research tool was the Loneliness Scale designed by Russell, Peplau, and Cutrona (1980), and we used students' term grade point average to measure their academic achievement. Results: The results indicated that group reality therapy training decreased loneliness (F=22.84, P<0.001) and increased academic achievement (F=23.56, P<0.001) in the students. Furthermore, reality therapy training could reduce loneliness and increase students' academic achievement. Conclusion: Reality therapy training caused empowerment and self-perception in students as the source of practice and it emphasized intrinsic motivation and sense of responsibility for behaviors, and thus it increased the feeling of self-worth, reduced loneliness, and increased academic achievement in the students.