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Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the impact of affect regulation training on the psychological distress tolerance of caregivers of drug abuse patients in Iranshahr treatment clinics.

Method: It was a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest research with a control group. All caregivers of drug abuse patients in Iranshahr treatment clinics In the fall of 2021 formed the statistical population for this study. The statistical sample was based on the research design and consisted of 30 individuals selected by convenience sampling and randomly distributed into two groups of 15 people, experimental and control. Simons and Gaher's (2005) Distress Tolerance Scale and Kobasa's Hardiness (1979) were utilized to gather information (1, 2). Based on Affect Regulation Training: Wheatley and Berking (2014), eight 60-minute sessions were conducted for this study.

Findings: After receiving emotion regulation group counseling, the average score of psychological hardiness in the caregivers of the intervention group was 163.66±22.92, significantly higher than the control group (151.80±14.67) (p=0.001). The mean score of distress tolerance in the caregivers of the intervention group (45.80 ± 8.48) was significantly higher than the control group (38.93 ± 5.88) (p=0.001).

Conclusion: Based on the results of this research, affect regulation training can improve psychological hardiness in caregivers of drug abuse patients in treatment clinics.