Comparing the Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Emotional Schema Therapy on Anxiety Sensitivity and Ambiguity Intolerance in Students with Anxiety Disorders.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy and emotional schema therapy in reducing anxiety sensitivity and ambiguity intolerance in students with anxiety disorders in the city of Sari. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental design that followed a pre-test and post-test format with a control group. The study sample consisted of 45 students diagnosed with anxiety disorders by the psychologist at the Education Department's consultation center in Sari. The students were randomly assigned to three groups (first experimental group: 15 individuals; second experimental group: 15 individuals; control group: 15 individuals). The first experimental group received training in the cognitive-behavioral therapy program, while the second experimental group received training in the emotional schema therapy program. The control group did not receive any specific intervention. Data collection was based on the anxiety sensitivity questionnaire by Floyd et al. (2005) and the ambiguity tolerance questionnaire by Weden et al. (2003). The data was analyzed using covariance analysis. Results: The findings of the study revealed no significant difference in the effectiveness of the two treatment methods, indicating that both cognitive-behavioral therapy and emotional schema therapy were equally effective in reducing anxiety sensitivity in students with anxiety disorders. The results also indicated that despite the effectiveness of both treatment methods, there was no significant difference between cognitive-behavioral therapy and emotional schema therapy in increasing ambiguity tolerance in students with anxiety disorders. Conclusions: Consequently, this study demonstrates the considerable effects of CBT and EST on students with anxiety disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]