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Proposing a Measurement Model of REBT and Applying It to the Assessment of Well-Being and Happiness in Patients with Tension-Type Headaches

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Abstract

Depression, anxiety, stress (DAS) are triggers of tension-type headaches. The current research investigates how irrational cognitions, according to the theory of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (tREBT), are associated with DAS. We determine how tREBT predicts well-being and happiness outcomes of people experiencing tension-type headaches through DAS. We use the Hybrid Model of Learning in Personality (HMLP) to provide a detailed model of cognitions associated with tREBT. This research aims to advance understanding of the psychological factors associated with tension-type headaches, and our measurement model of tREBT may help reverse declining research interest. Across two studies, using physicians and family members as third-party assessors of patients with tension-type headaches, we use HMLP to show how irrational cognitions are expressed through DAS in the prediction of patient well-being and happiness. Our results provide a new understanding of cognitions associated with tREBT, a measurement model of tREBT, and we identify cognitions associated with tension-type headaches. We conclude that learning and cognitive processes related to the development and maintenance of irrational beliefs are important in the prediction of the severity of tension-type headaches and their well-being outcomes. This information can be used to develop clinical applications, such as programs designed to increase success of health-promotion activities. We believe HMLP offers researchers a validated model of cognitive mechanisms associated with REBT and will encourage more mainstream empirical research of this theory and therapy.

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Notes

  1. This was estimated by probing the patient for the answer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology and Counselling, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350, Australia

    Zahra Izadikhah

  2. School of Management, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Chris J. Jackson

  3. School of Psychology and Counselling, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

    Zahra Mohammadi

  4. Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Mohammad Reza Najafi

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  1. Zahra Izadikhah
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  4. Mohammad Reza Najafi
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Correspondence to Zahra Izadikhah.

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Chris Jackson is the author and publisher of the HMLP.

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Izadikhah, Z., Jackson, C.J., Mohammadi, Z. et al. Proposing a Measurement Model of REBT and Applying It to the Assessment of Well-Being and Happiness in Patients with Tension-Type Headaches. J Rat-Emo Cognitive-Behav Ther 40, 406–424 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-021-00413-3

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