Development of mobile application based on ADPT (Rational Emotional Behavioral Therapy) approach for adolescents and its effects on communication skills, cognitive flexibility and irrational beliefs

Purpose: The aim of this research is to develop a mobile application based on REBT (rational emotional behavioral therapy) for adolescents and to examine the effects of the application on communication skills, cognitive flexibility and irrational beliefs. Method: A mixed design was used in the study in which quantitative and qualitative analyzes were used together. The quantitative dimension of the study constituted the quasi-experimental design designed as two groups (experimental group and control group) and three measurements (pre-test, post-test and follow-up). The independent variable of the study is the application of the "Think In Mobile Application Developed for Adolescents" and the dependent variable is the communication skills, cognitive flexibility and irrational beliefs levels of adolescents. The study group of the study was formed -randomly- from volunteer high school students who were continuing face-to-face education in the second semester of the 2023-2024 academic year. The study group consisted of 17 people in total, 9 in the experimental group and 8 in the control group. The "Communication Skills Assessment Scale, Cognitive Flexibility Scale, Irrational Beliefs Scale-Adolescent Form" were applied to the study group before the application (pre-test), after the application (post-test) and 4 weeks after the application was completed (post-test). The experimental group downloaded and completed the mobile application developed within the scope of the research to their phones, and no procedure was applied to the control group. In the analysis of the obtained data, firstly, kurtosis, skewness and Shapiro Wilk significance values ​​were examined for the normal distribution of the data. Levene test was applied for variance homogeneity, and Mauchly Sphericity Test was applied for sphericity assumption. Independent Groups T-test analysis was performed to compare the pre-test scores of the experimental and control groups. Mixed measures two-way ANOVA was used to compare the pre-test and post-test scores of the experimental and control groups in terms of variables. After the completion of the experimental study, semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with the experimental group participants. The qualitative data obtained were analyzed with the descriptive analysis technique within the framework of inductive analysis. Results: The quantitative findings obtained in the study show that the REBT- based mobile application developed for adolescents does not have a significant effect on the communication skills, cognitive flexibility and irrational belief levels of adolescents. The qualitative findings obtained in the study showed that the participants had opinions regarding the positive change in their communication skills, emotional control, flexible thinking, recognizing rational and irrational beliefs and classifying thoughts in the semi- structured interview analyses conducted with the experimental group after the application was completed. Conclusion and Suggestions: The quantitative findings obtained from the study showed that the developed application did not have a significant effect on the communication skills, cognitive flexibility and irrational beliefs of the adolescents. However, the qualitative findings obtained from the semi-structured interviews conducted with the experimental group participants, the expressions of the participants regarding their increased self-awareness, control of their thought processes, ability to cope with negative emotions and better communication, show that the application is effective on the variables of the study, which are communication skills, cognitive flexibility and irrational beliefs. The expressions regarding the acquisition of the said knowledge and skills show that the application has a positive effect on the participants and its use is suitable for supporting the development processes of individuals in adolescence.