Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of diabetes, especially type II diabetes, is increasing in the world. It seems that psycho-cognitive factors such as perceived-stress and resiliency can play an important role in diabetes care. The aim of the present study is examining the effect of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on self-efficacy, perceived stress and resiliency in type II diabetes patients.

METHODS: The method of this research was quasi-experimental (pre- test, post -test) with follow-up stages. The population includes women with type II diabetes that refer to Endocrine and Metabolism Research center, Isfahan university of Medical Sciences in 2014. Thirty two patients were selected by convenience sampling and they were randomly divided into two groups, namely experimental and control group (n1 =16, n2 = 16) and the follow-up stage was performed 3 months after the post test. Research tools consisted of questionnaires of self-efficacy (Sherer et al., 1982), perceived-stress (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983) and resiliency (Connor & Davidson, 2003). Term of ACT treatment was 8 sessions with one session every week in the experimental group and follow-up stage was performed three months after the post test.

RESULTS: Results showed that after the treatment, the scores of self-efficacy and perceived-stress was reduced significantly compared to the control group (p<0.05) in all stages, but in resiliency they did not show any significant differences with each other in post test stage. However, in follow-up stage, the scores were reduced significantly compared to the scores in the control group (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION: The results show that ACT can be useful for psycho-cognitive function in type II diabetes patients.

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