The Effectiveness of Positive Psychological Interventions on Social Isolation of Girl Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background: Past studies have revealed that positive psychological intervention has a positive impact on social isolation. Objectives: The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect of positive psychological interventions on students' social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The research design of the study was quasi-experimental, comprising post-test and pre-test types with experimental and control groups. The population of this study included all female students of the 10th grade at Isfahan Conservatory during the academic year 2022 - 2023. The sample size consisted of 30 female students who were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to two groups: the control group (15 students) and the experimental group (15 students). Eight sessions of positive psychological intervention were conducted with the experimental group, while the control group did not receive any intervention. Results: The results of Fisher’s Exact test and chi-square test did not reveal any significant difference between the two groups of fathers in terms of education level (P = 0.169), and there was also no significant difference between the two groups of mothers in terms of education level (P = 0.715). The mean scores of social isolation (control: 50.00 ± 7.44, intervention: 30.00 ± 7.60) significantly decreased in the intervention group (P = 0.0001), but there was no significant decrease in the control group (P = 0.45). Accordingly, the pre-test mean scores of social isolation (P = 0.143) did not show significant between-group differences, and the post-test mean scores of social isolation (P = 0.001) in the intervention group were significantly lower than in the control group. Conclusions: The positive psychological intervention had a significant effect on the students' social isolation in the experimental group during the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating that this intervention can be used to reduce the social isolation of students.