Effectiveness of a Group Counseling Program in Transcendental Meditation in Improving the Level of General Psychological Adjustment for Grade Eleven Female Studentsin Muscat Governorate

Muna Lawati
2017 International Journal of Psychology & Behavior Analysis  
technique resulted in a state of rest and alertness. The following studies examined the role of TMin reducing rates of hypertension, obesity, depression and other physical diseases. Although they found some positive correlation, it is worth mentioning that these results are not definitive [2]. Problem of the study Many parents and educators recognize that adolescence is associated with many negative connotations. Adolescence is described as a difficult phase, an overwhelming phase, a rebellion
more » ... hase, and a phase Abstract The study aimed to build a group counseling program in transcendental meditation (TM) and evaluate its effectiveness in enhancing the level of general psychological adjustment of female students in the eleventh grade in the governorate of Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, using a semi-empirical method. In order to select the sample of the study, the researcher used the general psychological adjustment scale on eleventh grade female students in the Omamabint Abi Al Aas School for basic education in the governorate of Muscat. Out of 76 female students, 30 students, who attained the lowest grades in the scale, were chosen for the study. The sample was randomly divided into two groups: an experimental group of 15 students who were trained in the group counseling program in TM, prepared by the researcher, and a control group of 15 students who did not receive any training in the program. The group counseling program included 12 counseling sessions over six weeks (two sessions a week). Each session was 45-60 minutes long. They also received a pre-program, a post-program, and a follow-up session. The program was based on the theory of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and focused on cognitive behavioral methods.The results of the study were as follows: 1. Statistically significant differences (α ≤ 0.05) were found in the scales of psychological adjustment, for the total scale and for each of its dimensions, between the individuals of the two groups: the experimental and the control. The post-test scores were more favorable in the experimental group, which indicates the effectiveness of the group counseling program used in this study. 2. Statistically significant differences (α ≤ 0.05) were found between the pre-test and post-test results in the psychological adjustment totals of the scale and for each of its dimensions. These differences were more favorable in the post-test, where the P value in all of it was less than (0.05), which indicates the effectiveness of the group counseling program used in this study. 3. No statistically significant differences of (α ≤ 0.05) were found between the post-test and the followup for the psychological adjustment total scale and for each of its dimensions for the experimental group, where P was greater than (0.05), which indicates that the effect of the group counseling program continues. Based on these results, the study made several recommendations and suggestions to achieve improvement in the level of general psychological adjustment for students of various age groups. Int J Psychol Behav Anal IJPBA, an open access journal
doi:10.15344/2455-3867/2017/135 fatcat:xulcpprne5huth3wtf7qdpdhla