Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Protective Role of Rational Beliefs on the Relationship Between Irrational Beliefs, Emotional States of Stress, Depression and Anxiety

  • Published:
Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The current study focuses on the protective role of rational beliefs in the relationship between irrational beliefs and negative emotional states (stress, depression and anxiety) in a sample of Turkish undergraduate students (N = 440). The findings suggest that irrational beliefs, especially the need for achievement, the need for approval, and the need for comfort, are important predictors of negative emotional states (stress, depression, and anxiety). The findings also provide additional evidence for the protective role of rational beliefs. Findings suggest that rational beliefs have a moderator role in the relationship between irrational beliefs and negative emotional states (stress, depression and anxiety). Contributions and the implications of this study were discussed in detail.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bernard, M. E. (1990, June). Validation of General Attitude and Belief Scale. Presented at the World Congress of Mental Health Counselling, Keystone, CO.

  • Bernard, M. E. (1998). Validation of General Attitude and Belief Scale. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 16, 183–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bilgel, N., & Bayram, N. (2010). Turkish version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-42): Psychometric properties. Archives of Neuropsychiatry/Nöropsikiatri Arşivi, 47(2), 118–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burgess, P. (1986). Belief systems and emotional disturbance: Evaluation of the rational emotive model. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, Australia.

  • Caserta, D. A., Dowd, E. T., David, D., & Ellis, A. (2010). Rational and irrational beliefs in primary prevention and mental health. In D. David, S. J. Lynn, & A. Ellis (Eds.), Rational and irrational beliefs: Research, theory and clinical practice (pp. 173–194). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chamberlain, J. M., & Haaga, D. A. (2001). Unconditional self-acceptance and responses to negative feedback. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 19(3), 177–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, E. C., & D’Zurilla, T. J. (1996). Irrational beliefs as predictors of anxiety and depression in a college population. Personality and Individual Differences, 20(2), 215–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Culhane, S. E., & Watson, P. J. (2003). Alexithymia, irrational beliefs, and the rational-emotive explanation of emotional disturbance. Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 21, 57–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • David, D., Lynn, S. J., & Ellis, A. (2010). The role of rational and irrational beliefs in human functioning and disturbances: Implications for research, theory, and clinical practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • David, D., Montgomery, G. H., Macavei, B., & Bovbjerg, D. H. (2005). An empirical investigation of Albert Ellis’s binary model of distress. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61(4), 499–516.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DiGiuseppe, R., Leaf, R., Exner, T., & Robin, M. V. (1988, September). The development of a measure of rational/irrational thinking. Paper presented at the World Congress of Behavior Therapy, Edinburgh, Scotland.

  • DiGiuseppe, R., Leaf, R., Gorman, B., & Robin, M. W. (2017). The development of a measure of irrational/rational beliefs. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-017-0273-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dryden, W., & Branch, R. (2008). The fundamental of rational emotive behavior therapy. London: Wiley.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, A. (1994). Reason and emotion in psychotherapy (2nd ed.). Secaucus, NJ: Birscj Lane.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, A. (2003a). Differentiating preferential from exaggerated and musturbatory beliefs in rational emotive behavior therapy. In W. Dryden (Ed.), Rational emotive behavior therapy: Theoretical developments (pp. 22–34). New York: Brunner Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, A. (2003b). Discomfort anxiety: A new cognitive-behavioral construct (part I). Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 21(3–4), 183–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, A., & Dryden, W. (1997). The practice of rational emotive behavior therapy. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis. A regression-based approach. New York, NY: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson, G. T., Patock-Peckham, J. A., Cheong, J., & Nagoshi, C. T. (1998). Irrational beliefs and behavioral misregulation in the role of alcohol abuse among college students. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 16(1), 61–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hyland, P., Shevlin, M., & Adamson, G. (2014). The moderating role of irrational beliefs in the relationship between irrational beliefs and posttraumatic stress symptomology. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 42, 312–326.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lovibond, P. F., & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33(3), 335–343.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mayhew, R., & Edelmann, R. J. (1989). Self-esteem, irrational beliefs and coping strategies in relation to eating problems in a non-clinical population. Personality and Individual Differences, 10(5), 581–584.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mertler, C. A., & Reinhart, R. V. (2017). Advanced and multivariate statistical methods: Practical application and interpretation (6th ed.). Third Avenue, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oltean, H. R., Hyland, P., Vallières, F., & David, D. O. (2017). An empirical assessment of REBT models of psychopathology and psychological health in the prediction of anxiety and depression symptoms. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465817000133.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Popov, B., & Popov, S. (2013). Adverse working conditions, job insecurity and occupational stress: The role of (ir) rational beliefs. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 31(1), 27–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schnur, J. B., Montgomery, G. H., & David, D. (2010). Irrational and rational beliefs and physical health. In D. David, S. J. Lynn, & A. Ellis (Eds.), Rational and Irrational beliefs: Research, theory and clinical practice (pp. 253–264). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, J. (2007). The effect of perfectionism and unconditional self-acceptance on depression. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 25(1), 35–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szentagotai, A. (2006). Irrational beliefs, thought suppression and distress—A mediation analysis. Journal of Cognitive & Behavioral Psychotherapies, 6(2), 119–127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szentagotai, A., & Jones, J. (2010). The behavioral consequences of irrational beliefs. In D. David, S. J. Lynn, & A. Ellis (Eds.), Rational and irrational beliefs: Research, theory and clinical practice (pp. 75–197). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vîslă, A., Flückiger, C., Grosse Holtforth, M., & David, D. (2016). Irrational beliefs and psychological distress: A meta-analysis. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 85(1), 8–15.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ziegler, D. J., & Leslie, Y. M. (2003). A test of the ABC model underlying rational emotive behavior therapy. Psychological Reports, 92(1), 235–240.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance, Faculty of Education, Pamukkale University, Kınıklı, 20070, Denizli, Turkey

    Murat Balkıs & Erdinç Duru

Authors
  1. Murat Balkıs
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Erdinç Duru
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Murat Balkıs.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of Social and Human Sciences Research and Publication Ethics Committee of Pamukkale University (Approval Number: 68282350/2007/G05).

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from each participant.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Balkıs, M., Duru, E. The Protective Role of Rational Beliefs on the Relationship Between Irrational Beliefs, Emotional States of Stress, Depression and Anxiety. J Rat-Emo Cognitive-Behav Ther 37, 96–112 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-018-0305-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-018-0305-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation