Comparison of the effectiveness of positive thinking training and acceptance and commitment therapy on quality of life and resilience of people living with HIV

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this research was to know the effectiveness of positive thinking training and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on quality of life and resilience of people living with HIV (PLHIV). Material and methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental method, with pre-test/post-test design. Statistical sample size was 45 PLHIV, who were selected using purposive sampling method. They were randomly assigned into positive thinking (n = 15), ACT (n = 15), and control (n = 15) groups. Quality of life questionnaire by Ware and Sherbourne (1991) and Conner-Davidson resilience scale (2003) were used for all three groups (pre-test). Participants of the experimental groups attended eight 90-minute sessions of group training. Post-test was implemented two weeks after training. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance (MANCOVA) were used to analyze the data. Results: The results showed that positive thinking group training was effective in promoting quality of life and resilience. The results also demonstrated that acceptance and commitment therapy was effective in promoting quality of life and resilience. According to the findings, there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of positive thinking group training and acceptance and commitment therapy on quality of life and resilience of PLHIV (p > 0.05). Conclusions: According to the obtained results, both training approaches (positive thinking and ACT) promoted quality of life and resilience of PLHIV, and there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two intervention approaches. Therefore, both interventions had beneficial impacts on lives of PLHIV.