effect of two therapies: compassion-focused and positive-oriented on the body image among female adolescents with a history of self-injury

Background: self-injury in adolescents refers to intentional behaviors that are not extrinsically motivated or do not have pre-determined intentions and impose costs on one’s body image. objectives: this study aimed to compare the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy and positive-oriented therapy on the body image of female adolescents with a history of self-injury. methods: this semi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test design was conducted on 45 female high school students in district 4 of tehran in the year of 2021. participants were randomly divided into three groups (two intervention groups and one control group). the data were collected using a demographic information checklist and the multidimensional body-self relations questionnaire–appearance scale (mbsrq-as) developed by cash et al. (2000). the collected data were analyzed through multiple analysis of variance (mancova) with spss software 26. results: the data revealed a statistically significant difference between the mean body image and the sub-scales scores in the three groups after the intervention appearance (f=18.37; p=0.001; eta=0.620), appearance orientation (f=0.99; p=0.001; eta=0.599), body areas satisfaction (f=11.87; p=0.001; eta=0.659), fitness orientation (f=15.68; p=0.001; eta=0.603), preoccupation with weight (p =23.04; p=0.001; eta=0.540), and body satisfaction (f=16.69; p=0.001; eta=0.613). the bonferroni post hoc test showed no significant difference in the effectiveness of two therapies in the participants’ body image (p>0.05). conclusion: considering the effectiveness of both compassion-focused and positive-oriented interventions on the body image, it is suggested that these interventions be used in female adolescents with a history of self-injury to reduce anxiety and improve mental well-being.