Thesis:

Investigating the Effectiveness of Stress Management Training on Reading Fiction, Mental Health, and Resilience of Unaccompanied and Badly Cared Adolescent Girls in Sabzevar City

Introduction: Unaccompanied and abused teenage girls, due to facing numerous environmental and psychological challenges, are often exposed to serious harm in the areas of mental health, resilience, and even cognitive skills such as reading fiction. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of an educational intervention program based on stress management on improving these three vital areas in the target population. Methodology: This study was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population included all unaccompanied and abused teenage girls under the coverage of the Welfare Organization of Sabzevar County. A sample of 30 people was selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to two experimental groups (recipients of stress management training) and control (recipients of regular welfare training). Measurement tools included standard fiction reading questionnaires, mental health (such as GHQ-28 or SCL-90-R), and resilience (such as Connor and Davidson Resilience Scale) that were completed in two stages: pre-test and post-test. The stress management training program was implemented for 4 weeks for the experimental group. Findings: The results of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and independent t-tests showed significant differences between the experimental and control groups in the post-test stage. These findings significantly supported the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 1 (significant): Stress management training led to a significant increase in fiction reading skills in unaccompanied and abused adolescent girls in the experimental group compared to the control group (p < 0.05). In other words, the ability to understand, analyze, and enjoy fictional literary texts in this group has improved significantly. Hypothesis 2 (significant): Stress management training has significantly improved mental health indicators (such as reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and somatization disorders) in orphaned and abused adolescent girls in the experimental group compared to the control group (p < 0.05). These results indicate a reduction in psychological distress and an improvement in psychological well-being in this population. Hypothesis 3 (significant): Stress management training has significantly increased psychological resilience (including the ability to adapt to difficult situations, optimism, and self-efficacy) in orphaned and abused adolescent girls in the experimental group compared to the control group (p < 0.05). This indicates the empowerment of these adolescents in facing life stresses and challenges. Discussion and Conclusion: The results of this study clearly indicate the significant effectiveness of the stress management training program on all three variables of reading fiction, mental health, and resilience in orphaned and abused adolescent girls in the Sabzevar city welfare center. These findings emphasize the importance of designing and implementing evidence-based psychological interventions to support this vulnerable segment of society. It is suggested that similar programs be implemented more widely in welfare centers to help improve the quality of life and capabilities of these adolescents

Keywords: Keywords: Stress management - Fiction reading - Mental health - Resilience