The effects of CBT on learned resourcefulness and automatic thoughts

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of a cognitive behavioral group counseling program on the learned resourcefulness level and automatic thought patterns of fifth grade elementary school students. Children’s Version of Self-Control Schedule (C-SCS) and Cognitive Triad Inventory for Children (CTI-C) were given to 232 fifth grade students. An experimental design with one training and two control groups (placebo-attention and no-treatment) and three measurements (pre, post, and follow-up) were used. 45 students (27 males, 18 females) who had low learned resourcefulness and negative automatic thought patterns were randomly assigned to the training and two control groups. ‘Cognitive Behavioral Group Counseling (CBGC)Program ’ was implemented to the training group students over a period of 15 sessions. Contrary to the expectations, the results indicated that ‘CBGC Program’ did not improve learned resourcefulness levels and increase positive automatic thought patterns of students.