The Effectiveness of an Anxiety Regulation Group Program Based on Acceptance and Commitment Theory

Objectives This study aimed to investigate whether an anxiety management group counseling program developed based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) leads to a significant reduction in experiential avoidance, cognitive defusion, and mindfulness, ultimately resulting in a decrease in state anxiety among university students. Methods A total of 26 university students (undergraduates and graduates) in Seoul, Korea, comprising 13 participants in the experimental group and 13 in the control group, were enrolled in the anxiety management group counseling program. Pre- and post-intervention scores for experiential avoidance, decentering, mindfulness, and state anxiety were obtained, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted using pre-intervention scores as covariates. Results The results of the ANCOVA comparing post-intervention scores between the two groups to verify the program's effectiveness are as follows: Firstly, the anxiety management group counseling program significantly increased participants' state anxiety. Secondly, the program significantly increased decentering and decreased experiential avoidance but did not significantly impact mindfulness. Conclusions The anxiety management group counseling program developed in this study showed immediate significant effects on decentering (cognitive de-fusion) and experiential avoidance, indicating the need for long-term intervention or follow-up assessments to achieve significant increases in mindfulness and decreases in state anxiety.