Effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Therapy on Interpersonal Emotion Regulation and Frustration Tolerance among Students of Pouyandegan Danesh Institute of Higher Education

Soudabeh Biglariyan; Elaheh Sadeghi

Authors

Soudabeh Biglariyan Department of Psychology, Ayandegan University, Tonekabon, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5604-9364
Elaheh Sadeghi Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Ayandegan University, Tonekabon, Iran https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6922-2397

Keywords:

Compassion-Focused Therapy, Interpersonal Emotion Regulation, Frustration Tolerance, University Students

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy (CFT) in improving interpersonal emotion regulation and frustration tolerance among students of Pouyandegan Danesh Institute of Higher Education.

Methods and Materials: This applied study employed a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design with a control group. The statistical population consisted of all students enrolled at Pouyandegan Danesh Institute of Higher Education during the second semester of the 2025–2026 academic year. Following recruitment and screening, 30 eligible students who demonstrated poorer levels of interpersonal emotion regulation and frustration tolerance were selected and randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=15) and a control group (n=15). Data were collected using the Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire developed by Hofmann et al. (2016) and Harrington’s Frustration Discomfort Scale (2005). The experimental group received compassion-focused therapy based on Gilbert’s (2009) protocol in eight 60-minute sessions, whereas the control group received no intervention during this period. Both groups subsequently completed the posttest assessments. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate and univariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVA and ANCOVA) in SPSS version 27.

Findings: Inferential analyses indicated that, after controlling for pretest scores, compassion-focused therapy produced a statistically significant improvement in interpersonal emotion regulation among students in the experimental group compared with the control group. The intervention also resulted in a significant reduction in frustration intolerance, indicating an increased capacity to tolerate frustrating and adverse situations. Overall, the covariance analyses confirmed significant between-group differences in both dependent variables in favor of the compassion-focused therapy group.

Conclusion: Compassion-focused therapy appears to be an effective psychological intervention for strengthening adaptive interpersonal emotion regulation and increasing frustration tolerance among university students. Accordingly, this therapeutic approach may be incorporated into university counseling and psychological support programs to enhance students’ emotional regulation capacities and their ability to cope constructively with frustrating experiences.

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