Comparing the effectiveness of life skills\' training and therapy of acceptance and commitment on attitude to life of the female\'s junior high schoolers in Karaj city

Background: Experts in the field of adolescents emphasize that instructional programs can play an effective role in improving the attitude towards the life of children and adolescents. Among these programs, we can mention the life skills' training and therapy of acceptance and commitment on attitude, but so far, no independent study has compared the effectiveness of these two approaches in improving students' attitude towards life; Therefore, considering the research gap in this field and the importance of the mentioned variables, research in this field seems necessary. Aims: The aim of the present study was to comparing the effectiveness of two methods of life skills' training and a therapeutic approach based on commitment and acceptance on the attitude to the life of female's junior high schoolers. Methods: The current research is semi-experimental and includes pre-test and post-test with control group. The statistical population of the research includes all female's junior high schooner’s in Karaj city whose number was about ten thousand. 60 people of them who had low scores in the attitude towards life questionnaire were selected and randomly replaced in two experimental groups and one control group (20 people each). One of the experimental groups was exposed to ten sessions (each session 90 minutes) of the life skills' training package (Mohammadkhani, 2015) and the second experimental group was exposed to 8 sessions (each session 90 minutes) of the therapeutic approach based on commitment and acceptance (Hayes, 2011). One week after the sessions, both study groups answered the Battista's (1973) life attitude index questionnaire again. In order to analyze the data, descriptive and inferential statistical methods (including multivariate covariance analysis and Benferroni's post hoc test) were used. Results: The findings showed that the two methods of life skills' training and the approach based on commitment are effective on female students' attitude to life (P< 0.05). But there is no significant difference between the effectiveness of life skills' training with the group of acceptance and commitment on students' attitude to life (P< 0.05). Conclusion: Considering the effectiveness of life skills' training programs and therapeutic approach based on commitment and acceptance, these approaches can be used to improve students' attitude to life in counseling centers, psychological institutions and educational centers, including schools.