Group-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Training Improves Mental Health of SME Entrepreneurs : Experimental Evidence from Conflict-Affected Areas of Pakistan
Mental health, well-being, and lasting economic outcomes are intimately connected. However, in geographies marked by fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV), entrepreneurs of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) experience chronic stress and poor mental health on a regular basis. These issu...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/339861559669899428/Group-Based-Cognitive-Behavioral-Training-Improves-Mental-Health-of-SME-Entrepreneurs-Experimental-Evidence-from-Conflict-Affected-Areas-of-Pakistan http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31799 |
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okr-10986-317992022-09-20T00:15:51Z Group-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Training Improves Mental Health of SME Entrepreneurs : Experimental Evidence from Conflict-Affected Areas of Pakistan Saraf, Priyam Rahman, Tasmia Jamison, Julian ENTREPRENEUR FRAGILITY CONFLICT-AFFECTED STATES VIOLENCE SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES MENTAL HEALTH DEPRESSION ANXIETY STRESS COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY HUMAN CAPITAL BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS WELL-BEING Mental health, well-being, and lasting economic outcomes are intimately connected. However, in geographies marked by fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV), entrepreneurs of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) experience chronic stress and poor mental health on a regular basis. These issues can hamper performance and quality of life for the entrepreneurs, and can dampen the benefits of existing financial and business assistance programs. Few proven rigorous interventions are known. This study tests the hypothesis that a five-week group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) training called Problem Management Plus for Entrepreneurs (PM+E), in combination with financial assistance, could be more effective at reducing psychological stressors of SME entrepreneurs in FCV contexts than financial assistance alone. Meaningful and statistically significant improvements in mental health were achieved, with improvements persisting and increasing beyond the immediate post-intervention period. Based on analysis of pooled data across two follow-up rounds (at five weeks and three months post-intervention), entrepreneurs in the treatment group experienced statistically significant reduction in the intensity and prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms (measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety and Depression Scale) and higher levels of well-being (measured by the World Health Organization Well-Being Index) compared with the control group. The effect was marked for those experiencing mild/moderate levels of depression and anxiety, suggesting the clinical value of such low touch interventions. Overall, the study demonstrates that empirical research through Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) can be conducted in challenging, FCV settings through appropriate rapid training of local researchers and non-specialist providers (NSPs) at a low cost, yielding scalable programmatic and policy level lessons. 2019-06-06T14:38:40Z 2019-06-06T14:38:40Z 2019-06 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/339861559669899428/Group-Based-Cognitive-Behavioral-Training-Improves-Mental-Health-of-SME-Entrepreneurs-Experimental-Evidence-from-Conflict-Affected-Areas-of-Pakistan http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31799 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8872 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper South Asia Pakistan |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
ENTREPRENEUR FRAGILITY CONFLICT-AFFECTED STATES VIOLENCE SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES MENTAL HEALTH DEPRESSION ANXIETY STRESS COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY HUMAN CAPITAL BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS WELL-BEING |
| spellingShingle |
ENTREPRENEUR FRAGILITY CONFLICT-AFFECTED STATES VIOLENCE SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES MENTAL HEALTH DEPRESSION ANXIETY STRESS COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY HUMAN CAPITAL BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS WELL-BEING Saraf, Priyam Rahman, Tasmia Jamison, Julian Group-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Training Improves Mental Health of SME Entrepreneurs : Experimental Evidence from Conflict-Affected Areas of Pakistan |
| geographic_facet |
South Asia Pakistan |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8872 |
| description |
Mental health, well-being, and lasting economic outcomes
are intimately connected. However, in geographies marked
by fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV), entrepreneurs
of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) experience
chronic stress and poor mental health on a regular basis.
These issues can hamper performance and quality of life
for the entrepreneurs, and can dampen the benefits of
existing financial and business assistance programs. Few
proven rigorous interventions are known. This study tests
the hypothesis that a five-week group Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy (CBT) training called Problem Management Plus
for Entrepreneurs (PM+E), in combination with financial
assistance, could be more effective at reducing psychological
stressors of SME entrepreneurs in FCV contexts
than financial assistance alone. Meaningful and statistically
significant improvements in mental health were achieved,
with improvements persisting and increasing beyond the
immediate post-intervention period. Based on analysis of
pooled data across two follow-up rounds (at five weeks and
three months post-intervention), entrepreneurs in the treatment
group experienced statistically significant reduction
in the intensity and prevalence of depression and anxiety
symptoms (measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire
Anxiety and Depression Scale) and higher levels of
well-being (measured by the World Health Organization
Well-Being Index) compared with the control group. The
effect was marked for those experiencing mild/moderate
levels of depression and anxiety, suggesting the clinical
value of such low touch interventions. Overall, the study
demonstrates that empirical research through Randomized
Control Trials (RCTs) can be conducted in challenging,
FCV settings through appropriate rapid training of local
researchers and non-specialist providers (NSPs) at a low
cost, yielding scalable programmatic and policy level lessons. |
| format |
Working Paper |
| author |
Saraf, Priyam Rahman, Tasmia Jamison, Julian |
| author_facet |
Saraf, Priyam Rahman, Tasmia Jamison, Julian |
| author_sort |
Saraf, Priyam |
| title |
Group-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Training Improves Mental Health of SME Entrepreneurs : Experimental Evidence from Conflict-Affected Areas of Pakistan |
| title_short |
Group-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Training Improves Mental Health of SME Entrepreneurs : Experimental Evidence from Conflict-Affected Areas of Pakistan |
| title_full |
Group-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Training Improves Mental Health of SME Entrepreneurs : Experimental Evidence from Conflict-Affected Areas of Pakistan |
| title_fullStr |
Group-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Training Improves Mental Health of SME Entrepreneurs : Experimental Evidence from Conflict-Affected Areas of Pakistan |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Group-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Training Improves Mental Health of SME Entrepreneurs : Experimental Evidence from Conflict-Affected Areas of Pakistan |
| title_sort |
group-based cognitive behavioral therapy training improves mental health of sme entrepreneurs : experimental evidence from conflict-affected areas of pakistan |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2019 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/339861559669899428/Group-Based-Cognitive-Behavioral-Training-Improves-Mental-Health-of-SME-Entrepreneurs-Experimental-Evidence-from-Conflict-Affected-Areas-of-Pakistan http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31799 |
| _version_ |
1764475095329275904 |