The Effect of Solution-Focused Psychoeducation on Self-Efficacy, Functioning and İnternalized Stigma in Bipolar Disorder: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

Objective: This study was conducted to examine the effect of solution-focused psychoeducation on self-efficacy, functioning and internalized stigma in bipolar disorder. Method: The study, designed in a quasi-experimental, control-group, pretest-posttest design, was conducted between April 2024 and October 2024 with 70 patients with bipolar disorder (35 treatment, 35 control). Participant Information Form, Internalized Stigma Scale in Mental Illness (ISMI), Functional Assessment Short Test (FAST), General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) were used to collect the data. A semi-structured, 6-session psychoeducation program was applied to the individuals. Descriptive statistics, normality test, correlation analysis, and paired sample test were used to analyze the data. Results: The total score of internalized stigma in mental illness showed more change in the experimental group (23.20 ± 10.39) than in the control group (3.34 ± 2.81) (F = 212.707 p < 0.001). The mean total score of internalized stigma in mental illness in the post-test in the experimental group was statistically lower than the pre- test (p < 0.05). The mean total score of the functionality assessment in the post-test in the experimental group was statistically lower than the pre-test (p < 0.05). Self-efficacy scale total score scores changed more in the experimental group (9.31 ± 4.53) than in the control group (0.89 ± 2.22) (F = 143.116 p < 0.001). In the experimental group, the mean total score of the self- efficacy scale in the posttest was statistically higher than in the pretest (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that solution-focused psychoeducation in bipolar disorder showed high and significant improvements in self-efficacy and internalized stigma.