Think and Act Positive: How to Deal with Conformity and Purpose in Life During Adolescence

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a period that a person develops from being juvenile into adulthood; therefore, training female adolescents is of great importance since it is a preparation stage for psychosocial demands. Psychologists should not only think about solving adolescence’s problems, but they must also help them to achieve a happier, and more fulfilled life. Excitement and the promotion of the meaning of life can have desirable aspects for the person, in individual and social conditions. Because when conformity appears in the form of normative influence, it improves the quality of life. Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy on conformity and the purpose in life among female adolescents. Methods: The research method was quasi experimental with pretest-posttest and control group. The population included high school female students in Neka, Mazandaran province, Iran in 2017. Thirty female adolescents selected using purposeful, and convenience sampling methods as the samples of the study. Fifteen subjects were then randomly assigned into each of the experimental and control groups. The experimental group received psychoeducational based on positive psychotherapy during 8 weeks, one session per week and each session lasted for 90 minutes; the control group did not receive any intervention. Measurements of the study were conformity L-72 test, and purpose in life questionnaire that respectively includes 55 and 20 items. The reliability of both tools was higher than 0.7. Results: Results revealed that in the experimental group, the means of conformity in pretest, posttest and follow up were 85.13, 69.00 and 67.93, and the mean of purpose in life were 103.67, 120.47 and 121.40. The positive psychotherapy had a significant effect on declining conformity and elaborating purpose in life among subjects (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Positive psychotherapy, by relying on positive attributes, can be effective on individual and social health and growth of adolescent girls. It is recommended to be used for adolescents who have low-level of purpose in life in or conformity.