Comparison of the Effectiveness of Hope Therapy and Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy on Depression and Anxiety in Female Students

Objective: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of hope therapy and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy (CBT) on depression and anxiety in female high school students in the first and second grades in Khorramabad, Iran. Methodology: This quasi-experimental study employed a multi-group design. The statistical population consisted of all female first- and second-year high school students during the 2017–2018 academic year, totaling 18,875 individuals. Using non-random convenience sampling, the sample was divided into two groups of 30 participants each. Following a pre-test, one experimental group underwent eight 1.5-hour sessions of hope therapy based on the therapeutic protocol from The Psychology of Hope (Bahari, 2018), while the second experimental group received ten 1.5-hour sessions of CBT based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Training Manual (Ghasemzadeh & Hamidpour, 2018). A post-test was conducted for all groups. Data were collected using the Beck Depression Inventory and the Cattell Anxiety Scale. Data analysis was performed using univariate and multivariate covariance analysis tests. Findings: The findings revealed that both hope therapy and CBT significantly affected reducing depression and anxiety among students. Additionally, the effect sizes for hope therapy and CBT on reducing depression and anxiety in female students were 19% and 18%, respectively. A significant difference was observed between the effectiveness of hope therapy and CBT in addressing depression and anxiety, with hope therapy proving more effective than CBT (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Based on the findings, it can be concluded that both therapeutic approaches played a significant role in improving depression and anxiety in female students.