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:: Volume 3, Issue 4 (Winter 2025) ::
Health Res Develop 2025, 3(4): 64-78 Back to browse issues page
Effectiveness of Communicational Imagery (Imago Therapy) on Job Burnout and Cognitive Flexibility among Offshore Port Workers
Hojjatollah Aghamohammadi vernosfadarani1 , Gholamreza Talebi *2
1- Na. C., Islamic Azad University & Master of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, Na. C., Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran., Hojjataghamohammadi.ha@gmail.com
2- Na. C., Islamic Azad University & Assistant Professor of Health Psychology, Department of Medicine, Na. C., Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran., rezatalebi@iau.ac.ir , rezatalebi@iau.ac.ir
Abstract:   (186 Views)
Background: Work–family conflict is often accompanied by considerable challenges in family functioning as well as occupational and psychological performance. These pressures are more pronounced among offshore workers and their families. Accordingly, the present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of communicational imagery on job burnout and cognitive flexibility among offshore port employees.
Methods: This semi-experimental study employed a pretest–posttest design with a three-month follow-up and a control group. The study population included all offshore workers in the southern ports of Iran in the fall of 2024, from which Khorramshahr Port was randomly selected. Based on inclusion criteria, 36 participants were purposively chosen and randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups (18 participants each). The research instruments included the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (Dennis & Vander Wal) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The experimental group received seven sessions of communicational imagery intervention. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc tests in SPSS version 26.
Results: The two groups did not differ significantly in terms of age and educational level (P>0.05). The findings indicated that the communicational imagery intervention significantly reduced job burnout and increased cognitive flexibility in the experimental group (P<0.001), and these effects remained stable at the three-month follow-up. Repeated measures analysis showed that a substantial proportion of the changes in job burnout (73.5%) and cognitive flexibility (67.4%) resulted from the intervention, and between-group effects confirmed 16.5% and 13.6% differences between the groups, respectively.
Conclusion: Communicational imagery is an effective intervention for reducing job burnout and enhancing cognitive flexibility among offshore workers, with effects that persist up to three months after the intervention. Therefore, this approach can be recommended as a practical option in mental health promotion programs and in improving occupational adjustment among offshore employees.
Keywords: Emagotherapy, Burnout, Cognitive flexibility, Satellite employees, Family.
Full-Text [PDF 1044 kb]   (2 Downloads)    
Type of Study: Original | Subject: Special
Received: 2025/09/6 | Accepted: 2025/11/6 | Published: 2025/12/31
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Aghamohammadi vernosfadarani H, Talebi G. (2025). Effectiveness of Communicational Imagery (Imago Therapy) on Job Burnout and Cognitive Flexibility among Offshore Port Workers. Health Res Develop. 3(4), 64-78.
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