The impact of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on the psychological defense mechanism and weight loss program: A randomized controlled trial among university students during COVID-19 movement control order

• Main Authors: Patricia Pawa, Pitil, Siti Raudzah, Ghazali
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V. 2023
• Subjects: BF Psychology
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/43703/1/impact.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/43703/; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212144723000893?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=8354b8eba80b389c; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2023.07.003

This study examined the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in changing the psychological defense mechanism and promoting weight loss among overweight or obese (OW/OB) university students. A sample of 152 OW/OB university students who reported high immature and neurotic defense styles was randomly assigned into ACT, ACT-EX (ACT and structured exercise program), or a control group (CG) for a six-week intervention program. Group × time interactions showed that the BMI and all defense styles improved in the ACT and ACT-EX groups. The BMI was significantly lower in ACT-EX than in ACT, while the within-group effect size was larger in ACT than in ACT-EX for immature and neurotic defense styles. The mature defense style showed a significant improvement albeit with a small effect size in both ACT and ACT-EX. Both ACT interventions were found to be effective in promoting weight loss and improving the psychological defense mechanism, including experiential avoidance.