The Effectiveness of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy on Social Cognition and Impulsivity in conscripts with major depressive disorder

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor of Management, Naja Police Science and Social Studies Research Institute, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

3 PhD in clinical psychology, Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences Research Center in Police, Deputy Health, Aid and Treatment of Police Command, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

The present study aims to determine the effectiveness of The Effectiveness of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy on Social Cognition and Impulsivity in conscripts with major depressive disorder. method research was a semi-experimental type of pre-test-post-test-1 month follow-up with a control group. The statistical population included all Faraja male conscripts suffering from major depressive disorder in the headquarters of Isfahan province, Isfahan city, and Khomeini Shahr city in the winter of 1402 and spring of 1403. 50 soldiers suffering from major depressive disorder were selected by purposive sampling and randomly assigned to the experimental group (25 people) and the control group (25 people). Dovanlo's ISTDP protocol was performed only for the experimental group during 8 sessions of 90 minutes, and the control group was placed on the waiting list. Subjects in 3 stages with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (1996), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (1995), and Baron Cohen et al.'s (2001) Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test were evaluated. The data was analyzed with SPSS-28 software and the results of Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) showed that ISTDP affects social cognition, symptoms of depression, and impulsivity (and all its components, including unplanned impulsivity, motor impulsivity, and cognitive impulsivity) in active-duty soldiers, and the lasting effect of psychotherapy up to 1 month after the intervention was confirmed (p<0.05). Therefore, ISTDP is an effective intervention for major depressive disorder.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Military Psychology
Volume 15, Issue 4 - Serial Number 60
Winter Quarterly
September 2025
Pages 129-156

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  • Receive Date: 11 October 2024
  • Revise Date: 03 March 2025
  • Accept Date: 07 September 2025

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