Determining the Effectiveness of Schema Therapy on Anxiety and Suicidal Thoughts in Students Experiencing Romantic Trauma

The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of schema therapy on anxiety and suicidal thoughts in students experiencing romantic trauma. This study was applied in purpose and quasi-experimental in design, utilizing a pretest-posttest control group framework. The statistical population included all students at the Islamic Azad University, Malard Branch, who were experiencing romantic trauma. From this population, 30 individuals were voluntarily selected and randomly assigned to two groups: an experimental group (n = 15) and a control group (n = 15). Data collection tools included the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS), and the schema therapy protocol developed by Young et al. (2003). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26. To test the research hypotheses, a univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed. The results indicated that, at the posttest stage, the mean scores for anxiety and suicidal ideation decreased among participants who received schema therapy. As observed, there was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental and control groups across all four variables (p < 0.05). The findings of this study demonstrated that schema therapy leads to improvements in anxiety and suicidal ideation among students who have experienced romantic trauma.