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Lalegani A, Hatami M, Hasani J, Borjali M. Development and Evaluation of a Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory–Based Psychoeducational Intervention for Patients with Chronic Wounds: A Quasi-Experimental Study. ASWTR 2026; 23 (2) :11-25
URL: http://icml.ir/article-1-700-fa.html

Background: Chronic wounds are associated with substantial psychological burden, including impaired quality of life, difficulties in emotion regulation, repetitive negative thinking, and reduced psychological flexibility. Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) provides a framework for understanding psychological adaptation and developing targeted psychological interventions. This study evaluated the effectiveness of an RST-based psychoeducational intervention in improving quality of life and psychological outcomes among patients with chronic wounds.
Methods: A randomized pretest–posttest controlled study with a wait-list control group was conducted. Forty patients with chronic wounds were recruited using convenience sampling and randomly allocated to either an intervention group or a wait-list control group.
Results: After adjustment for baseline scores, significant between-group differences were observed across all outcome variables (P < .001). Compared with controls, participants receiving the intervention demonstrated greater cognitive reappraisal (F = 52.429, ηp² = .593), lower expressive suppression (F = 31.722, ηp² = .468), reduced repetitive negative thinking (F = 37.613, ηp² = .504), greater psychological flexibility (F = 29.509, ηp² = .444), and improved wound-related quality of life (F = 20.151, ηp² = .353). All observed effect sizes were large.
Conclusions: These findings provide preliminary evidence that the RST-based psychoeducational intervention may serve as a feasible adjunct to standard wound care for improving short-term psychological outcomes and quality of life. However, the absence of follow-up assessments limits conclusions about the durability of these effects. Larger multicenter trials with extended follow-up periods are needed to confirm the long-term effectiveness and generalizability of these findings.