The effectiveness of metacognitive therapy on feelings of failure, self-blame, and psychological vulnerability in female students with social media addiction

Razaghi‌ zadeh, Farzaneh; Khoshlahjeh Sedgh, Anis

Volume 14, Issue 1 (3-2026) jmsthums 2026, 14(1): 47-60 | Back to browse issues page

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Razaghi‌ zadeh F, Khoshlahjeh Sedgh A. The effectiveness of metacognitive therapy on feelings of failure, self-blame, and psychological vulnerability in female students with social media addiction. jmsthums 2026; 14 (1) :47-60
URL: http://jms.thums.ac.ir/article-1-1411-en.html

The effectiveness of metacognitive therapy on feelings of failure, self-blame, and psychological vulnerability in female students with social media addiction

Farzaneh Razaghi‌ zadeh¹

, Anis Khoshlahjeh Sedgh¹

1- Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Qom Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Qom, Iran

Abstract: (26 Views)

Background & Aim: One of the emerging phenomena is social media addiction, which can harm students' mental health. The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of metacognitive therapy on feelings of failure, self-blame, and psychological vulnerability.
Methods: The present study was a semi-experimental (pre-test-post-test with a control group) study, and the statistical population included all female students with social media addiction in Qom in the academic year 2022-2023, who were examined with a questionnaire on virtual media addiction. A sample of 30 people was selected using G-Power software and randomly assigned to two groups of 15 people. In the Wells metacognitive therapy experimental group, 8 group sessions were conducted, and the control group did not receive any intervention. The frustration and self-blame (Gilbert) and psychological vulnerability (short form) questionnaires were used. Data analysis was performed using multivariate analysis of covariance using SPSS-25 software at an error level of 0.01.
Results: The mean and standard deviation of the ages of female students in the experimental and control groups were 16.13±2.97 and 15.66±2.18 years, respectively. The results of the covariance test showed that there was a significant difference between the mean scores of feelings of failure (F=10.117), self-blame (F=9.552), and psychological vulnerability (F=12.700) in the post-test phase, after controlling for pre-test scores (p<0.05). Aditionally, cognitive therapy was found to significantely reduce these variables in students addicted to social networks (p<0.05).
Conclusion: In this regard, it is recommended that specialists and counselors in the field of addiction to virtual networks utilize metacognitive therapy.

Keywords: Metacognitive Therapy, Feelings of Failure, Self-Blame, Psychological Vulnerability, Social Media Addiction, Students

Full-Text [PDF 320 kb] (49 Downloads)

Type of Study: Research | Subject: Special
Received: 2025/09/1 | Accepted: 2025/12/16 | Published: 2026/06/29

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