The Effect of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Levels in Iranian Males With Addiction

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy on reducing depression, anxiety, and stress levels of Iranian males with addiction. The participants included 24 Iranian males with addiction selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to the experimental (n = 12) and control (n = 12) groups. Then, Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale was used as the pretest, posttest, and follow-up tests to assess participants’ levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. The experimental group received eight sessions of cognitive-behavioral therapy, while the control group did not. The findings of the study showed that cognitive-behavioral therapy was effective in reducing participants’ levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Thus, the findings indicate that the cognitive-behavioral therapy reduced the depression, anxiety, and stress of Iranian males with addiction.