Efficacy of a Meichenbaum-Based Treatment Program for Enhancing Psychological Immunity and Reducing Social Anxiety in Secondary School Students

Objective: The purpose of this study was to design a psychological treatment program based on Meyer's theory to increase psychological resilience and reduce social anxiety among secondary school students in Riyadh. Methods: A total of 973 secondary school students participated in the initial assessment, which revealed a 24.8% decrease in psychological resilience and a 23.7% increase in social anxiety. Out of this group, 28 students between 16 and 20 years (= 17 years) were randomly selected and divided into an experimental group and a control group. The treatment program was made for the current experiment only for the experimental group. Results: This proved to be true through the differences noted in the scores on the dimensional assessments, where the experimental group had increased extents of psychological resilience and reduced social anxiety. As a result, there were no statistically significant differences between the dimensional and follow-up assessments of psychological resilience as well as social anxiety levels within the experimental group. Conclusion: The study's outcomes demonstrated a positive impact of the intended psychological treatment program, leading to an increase in psychological readiness among the secondary school students in the group and a decrease in social anxiety levels. It presents an opportunity that supports developmental, preventive, and therapeutic approaches towards students' mental health and disorders, specifically severe social anxiety.