EFFICACY OF AUDITORY SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES AND SURAH REHMAN ON PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AND EMOTIONAL REGULATION AMONG YOUNG ADULTS

Abstract

The study aimed to examine the effectiveness of Auditory Subliminal Messages and Quranic recitation of Surah Rehman, as well as their impact on reducing psychological distress and improving emotional regulation among young adults. By utilizing the quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design, a total of twenty participants were recruited and equally assigned to two separate intervention groups. Each of the two groups comprised five Muslim and five non-Muslim participants. One group was given affirmation-based auditory subliminal messages, while the other was exposed to the audio of the recitation of Surah Rehman. The interventions were administered during a period of six weeks, in which two sessions were conducted weekly for each group. Psychological distress and emotional regulation were the key focus of the assessment before and after the interventions, and it was done using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16). The participants receiving auditory subliminal messages were unaware of the embedded affirmations, which were beneath the auditory stimulating sensors. The results indicated significant reductions in psychological distress and significant improvements in emotional regulation in both intervention groups after the completion of each intervention. The comparative analyses unearthed greater effect sizes for the Surah Rehman recitation group on both psychological distress and emotional regulation outcomes. These findings read that both auditory subliminal messages and Surah Rehman recitation have the capacity to serve as an effective complementary intervention for improving psychological well-being among the young adults.