Investigation of the mediator role of optimism, self-compassion and psychological well-being in the relationship between perfectionism and cognitive flexibility in adolescents and the efficiency of the developed cognitive flexibility psycho-education program

One of the aims of the current study is to determine whether optimism, self-compassion, and psychological well-being play a mediator role in the relationship between adolescents' level of perfectionism and cognitive flexibility. Another aim of the study is to examine whether the cognitive flexibility psycho-education program, which is prepared on the basis of optimism, self-compassion and psychological well-being, is effective on the cognitive flexibility levels of adolescents. Thus, it is aimed to establish a comprehensive model for adolescents by determining the factors that theoretically affect cognitive flexibility and conducting an experimental study on cognitive flexibility. In this study, two models integrated into each other were used. The first of these models is a descriptive, relational survey model used to determine whether optimism, self-compassion, and psychological well-being have a mediator role in the relationship between adolescents' level of perfectionism and cognitive flexibility. The second model is the pretest-posttest control group experimental model used to determine the effectiveness of the psycho-education program developed on the basis of mediator variables (optimism, self-compassion and psychological well-being). Since the method of the current study was diversified, two different study groups were used in the application of the relational and experimental methods used in the study. The first study group consisted of 714 students studying at high schools in Konya, determined with the permission of Konya Provincial Directorate of National Education. The second study group was comprised of 24 students attending Meram Naciye Mumcuoğlu Anatolian High School and 12 of these students were assigned to the experimental group and 12 to the control group to test the effectiveness of the cognitive flexibility psycho-education program. The data of the study were collected by using the Cognitive Flexibility Scale, the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Optimism Pessimism Scale, the Self-Compassion Scale short form and the Psychological Well-Being Scale. In the experimental application, which is the second stage of the study, the cognitive flexibility psycho-education program consisting of eight sessions, which was prepared on the basis of the variables of self-compassion and psychological well-being, was applied to the experimental group. No intervention was made to the control group. The Cognitive Flexibility Scale was administered to both the experimental and control group before and after the implementation of the psycho-education program. In the first stage of the study, it was determined that self-compassion and psychological well-being played a mediator role in the relationship between perfectionism and cognitive flexibility, while optimism did not. As a result of the experimental application, which is the second stage of the study, the cognitive flexibility psycho-education program applied was found to be effective in increasing the cognitive flexibility of adolescents. The findings were discussed in the light of the literature, and suggestions were made for teachers, families and researchers who have the power to influence adolescents.