The effectiveness of group cognitive behavioral therapy on resilience, functional anxiety, and symptom severity in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

Introduction: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a prevalent digestive disorder characterized by abdominal pain and changes in bowel movements without any structural disorders. The present study aims to explore the impact of group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) on resilience, functional anxiety, and the severity of IBS symptoms in patients from Hamadan, Iran. Methods: This study employed a semi-experimental, pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The participants were patients diagnosed with IBS referred to the gastroenterology clinic at Ibn Sina Hospital in Hamedan, Iran. A total of 40 patients were selected through simple random sampling and divided into experimental and control groups. The intervention consisted of CBT, based on the framework by Leahy et al. To measure the outcomes, this study used the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) (2003), the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) (1970), and the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Severity Score (IBSSS). After completing the intervention, this research administered a post-test to both groups using the same questionnaires. Results: The study utilized multivariate and univariate covariance analyses to examine the data and test the research hypotheses. The results revealed that group CBT sessions led to notable differences between the experimental and control groups. Specifically, the subjects in the experimental group showed a significant reduction in functional anxiety, a decrease in the severity of IBS, and an increase in resilience compared to the control group. Conclusion: The results indicate that group CBT significantly reduces functional anxiety and the severity of IBS symptoms while boosting resilience.