Methods
This type of validity demonstrated by the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ) shows that it can predict outcomes related to repetitive negative thinking.
What is predictive validity?
The study followed up with participants for this length of time after the intervention to assess the therapy’s lasting effects.
What is 3 months?
The reduction in scores on this 21-item measure was used to evaluate changes in participants' levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.
What is the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21)?
Due to the small and homogenous sample, the study had limitations with this type of validity, which affects how well the findings generalize to other populations.
What is external validity?
Alongside depression, this other anxiety-related disorder was targeted in the study using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
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What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)?
The study’s design, which included a staggered introduction of the intervention and stable baselines, aimed to strengthen this type of validity by controlling for confounding variables.
What is internal validity?
The specific type of nonprobability sampling used in this study, where participants were selected based on strict inclusion criteria for comorbid GAD and depression.
What is criterion-based purposive sampling?
This percentage of participants showed clinically significant change in overall emotional symptoms, confirming the intervention's effectiveness.
What is 83% (or 5 out of 6 participants)?
One of the major limitations, this lack of additional conditions makes it difficult to attribute changes solely to the ACT intervention.
What is the absence of a control group?
This central concept in ACT, which the study aimed to increase, involves engaging with thoughts and emotions in a flexible, non-judgmental way.
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What is psychological flexibility?
This type of reliability, reported with Cronbach’s alphas above 0.90 for several measures, confirms that items within each scale consistently measure the same construct.
What is internal consistency reliability?
This type of statistical approach was used to evaluate clinically significant change at the individual level, providing evidence beyond traditional p-values.
What is Bayesian analysis?
This term describes when a participant’s post-treatment scores align more closely with non-clinical averages, marking a significant change in symptoms.
What is clinically significant change?
This design feature, where the study tracked participants for three months post-intervention, strengthened the findings on sustained therapeutic effects.
What is the follow-up period?
Participants had to report that their symptoms interfered with at least this many life domains to qualify for the study.
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What is three life domains?
By using this kind of baseline, introduced at different times across participants, the study could better attribute improvements to the ACT intervention.
What is a delayed multiple-baseline design?
This type of therapy, abbreviated as ACT, was used in the study to reduce repetitive negative thinking for individuals with GAD and depression.
What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?
This term describes the shift participants experienced toward engaging in actions that aligned with their long-term goals and personal values.
What is valued living?
The researchers recommended adding this type of control condition in future studies to distinguish specific effects of the ACT protocol.
What is a psychological placebo?
By including videotaping and independent checks on the intervention delivery, the study aimed to enhance this aspect of methodological rigor.
What is treatment fidelity (or protocol fidelity)?
This type of validity is shown when a measure correlates well with other tools assessing similar constructs, as demonstrated by the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ).
What is convergent validity?
This psychological term describes the unhelpful pattern of recurring thoughts that the ACT intervention aimed to reduce in participants.
What is Repetitive Negative Thinking (RNT)?
Follow-up results showed that participants continued to improve in experiential avoidance, indicating they were increasingly open to these experiences.
What are uncomfortable thoughts and feelings?
This aspect of participant selection, based on self-reported inclusion criteria and brief screenings, limited the study’s ability to generalize to those with complex comorbidities.
What is limited screening or narrow inclusion criteria?
In the ACT framework, this core concept involves identifying and pursuing what is personally meaningful, which was a focus of the final session in the study.
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What are values?