The Effectiveness of a Positive Psychological Self-Care Educational Package on Emotion Regulation and Coping Self-Efficacy Among Male Adolescents with Risky Behaviors

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a Positive Psychological self-care educational package on emotion regulation and coping self-efficacy among male adolescents with risky behaviors. This study employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and two-month follow-up assessments using a control group. The statistical population consisted of male adolescents aged 15 to 17 years with risky behaviors who were referred to the Towhid Counseling Center in Tehran. Following initial screening, 40 participants were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The research instruments included the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale. The experimental group participated in a 12-session positive self-care educational program, while the control group remained on a waiting list. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance and Bonferroni post hoc tests in SPSS-24 software. The findings demonstrated that the positive self-care educational package significantly improved emotion regulation and coping self-efficacy among male adolescents with risky behaviors. Significant main effects of time, group membership, and time-by-group interaction were found for all dimensions of emotion regulation and coping self-efficacy (P<0.001). Bonferroni post hoc analyses indicated significant improvements from pre-test to post-test and follow-up stages in adaptive emotion regulation strategies and coping self-efficacy components among participants in the experimental group, whereas maladaptive emotional responses significantly decreased. No significant changes were observed in the control group. Additionally, no significant differences were found between post-test and follow-up scores, indicating the stability of intervention effects over time. The positive self-care educational package appears to be an effective psychological intervention for improving emotion regulation and coping self-efficacy among male adolescents with risky behaviors. Emphasizing psychological empowerment, positive emotions, coping skills, and self-awareness may contribute significantly to reducing psychological vulnerability and preventing risky behaviors in adolescents.