The Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Perceived Competence and School Happiness in Gifted Students

Background and Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on the perception of competence and school happiness among gifted students. The research employed a pretest-posttest experimental design with a control group. The entire population of gifted students in Ardabil in the first semester of the academic year ۲۰۲۲ was considered. The sample size consisted of ۴۰ gifted students selected through non-probability convenience sampling. The data collection included the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), the Dastgahni-Zadeh and Hossein Chari School Happiness Questionnaire, and the Hartner Competence Perception Questionnaire. The intervention group received an eight-session protocol of Kabat-Zinn mindfulness over eight weeks, with each session lasting ۹۰ minutes, totaling ۲۴ hours. In contrast, the control group did not receive any intervention during this period. Both groups completed the school happiness, competence perception, and mindfulness questionnaires before and after the intervention, and the final analyses were conducted on these data.Findings: The results of the analyses indicated a significant difference between the two groups in competence perception and school happiness. Specifically, the intervention group experienced a higher level of school happiness (P = ۰.۰۰۹, F = ۲۷.۷۰), competence perception (P = ۰.۰۰۱, F = ۵۹.۵۵), and mindfulness (P = ۰.۰۰۵, F = ۲۹.۵۲) compared to the control group.Conclusion: The findings confirmed the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in enhancing the competence perception and school happiness of gifted students.