Farhad Akbarpour - Ph.D Student, Department of Education Science and Counseling, Faculty of Psychology, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Mehdi Zare Bahramabadi - Institute for Research and Development in the Humanities, SAMT.
Mehdi Davaei - Department of Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Central Branch, Tehran, Iran
Fariba Hassani - Department of Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Central Branch, Tehran, Iran

Background: Mindfulness-based interventions can focus on the present to free people from unpleasant events of the past and worries about the future, thereby reducing their involvement in high-risk behaviors. Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of mindfulness and emotion regulation training in the reduction of emotion dysregulation in externalization symptoms in adolescents with a tendency for high-risk Behaviors. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was conducted on ۷۴ at-risk high school adolescents in the ۱۵th district of Tehran in ۲۰۱۹. They were randomly assigned to three groups of mindfulness, emotion regulation, and control groups. With a pre-test and post-test control group design, subjects in the intervention groups underwent sessions of mindfulness and emotion regulation training, while the control group did not receive any intervention. All groups were evaluated in pre-test and post-test using Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version ۱۸) using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) test. Results: Based on the results,  there were no significant mean differences among groups in the pretest. Nonetheless, the scores of externalization syndrome in the subscale of lawless behavior (۲η=۰.۱۹; P<۰.۰۱; F=۶.۳۱ (۵۳.۲)) and aggressive behavior (۱۸/۱۸ ۰=۲nd; P<۰.۰۱; F=۵.۶۸ (۵۳.۲) significantly reduced in two groups of mindfulness and emotion regulation, compared to those obtained in the control group. Conclusion: Mindfulness-based group training and emotion regulation could be regarded as useful interventions for at-risk adolescents by emotion regulation and reduction of the possibility of risky behaviors.

Adolescents, Emotion regulation, Mindfulness, Risky behaviors