Social Psychology Research

Abstract Introduction: Certain occupations, particularly those involving the care of abused and neglected children, can significantly impact the mental health of professionals, underscoring the need for targeted psychological interventions for educators. This study aimed to determine the effect of Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) on compassion fatigue and emotion regulation among educators working in care centers for abused and neglected children.
Method: This quasi-experimental study employed a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The statistical population comprised all female educators from care centers for abused and neglected children under the auspices of the Golestan Provincial Welfare Organization. A convenience sample of 30 educators from centers in the cities of Galikesh, Gonbad Kavous, and Minudasht was selected and randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 15) and a control group (n = 15). Data were collected using the Compassion Fatigue Questionnaire (Portnoy, 1996) and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross & John, 2022). The experimental group participated in eight 90-minute sessions of Compassion-Focused Therapy, after which a post-test was administered to both groups. The data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).
Results: The results of multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) indicated a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in post-test scores for compassion fatigue, expressive suppression, and cognitive reappraisal (the subscales of emotion regulation) following the intervention (p < 0.01). Specifically, Compassion-Focused Therapy significantly reduced compassion fatigue (p < 0.01) and the use of expressive suppression (p < 0.01), while significantly improving the use of cognitive reappraisal (p < 0.01) in the experimental group compared to the control group.
Conclusion: Given the demonstrated effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Therapy, the application of this approach is recommended as a suitable intervention strategy for enhancing the mental health and mitigating the emotional pressures experienced by this group of caregivers.