Comparing the Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment–Based Training and Cognitive-Behavioral Training on Students’ Hope for the Future

Tahereh Sahebi Havas; Barat Ali Ghavami; Abdollah Mafakheri

Authors

Tahereh Sahebi Havas PhD Student, Department of Psychology, Boj.C., Islamic Azad University, Bojnourd. Iran Author https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9962-9022
Barat Ali Ghavami Assistant Professor, Counseling Department, Qu.C., Islamic Azad University, Quchan. Iran Corresponding Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1413-5996
Abdollah Mafakheri Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9437-1539

Keywords:

Acceptance and Commitment–Based Training, Cognitive-Behavioral Training, Hope for the Future, Students, Adolescents

Abstract

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment–Based Training and Cognitive-Behavioral Training in improving hope for the future among female lower-secondary-school students. The study employed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a control group and a two-month follow-up. The statistical population consisted of female lower-secondary-school students in Mashhad, Iran, during the 2025–2026 academic year. Participants were selected through convenience sampling and assigned to three groups: Acceptance and Commitment–Based Training, Cognitive-Behavioral Training, and control, with 15 students in each group. The first experimental group received a ten-session acceptance and commitment-based intervention, while the second experimental group received a ten-session cognitive-behavioral intervention. The control group received no intervention. Data were collected at pretest, posttest, and two-month follow-up using the 19-item Adolescent Hope Questionnaire developed by Ginevra et al. (2017). Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance and Bonferroni post-hoc comparisons at a significance level of .05. The analysis revealed a significant intervention effect on hope for the future, F = 31.73, p < .001, partial η² = .318. Bonferroni comparisons showed significant increases from pretest to posttest and from pretest to follow-up in the Acceptance and Commitment–Based Training group (p = .007 and p = .010, respectively) and in the Cognitive-Behavioral Training group (both p < .001). The differences between posttest and follow-up were not significant in either intervention group, indicating maintenance of treatment gains. No significant differences were observed across measurement occasions in the control group. Both Acceptance and Commitment–Based Training and Cognitive-Behavioral Training were effective in improving hope for the future among female lower-secondary-school students, and the improvements were maintained at the two-month follow-up.

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