The Effectiveness of Acceptance-and-Commitment-Based Parenting Training on Mood and Anxiety in Children and Self-compassion in Parents

Abstract

Objective: Depression and anxiety are common in children and a major cause of many illnesses and disabilities in this age group; Moreover, parents have the greatest impact on shaping the mental health and well-being of their children and there is a vast literature describing the importance of parenting factors in the development of depression and anxiety in children. Methods: We used the experimental research design in this study. The sample consisted of 34 children with depression and anxiety who were randomly allocated into ACT on parenting (intervention) and control groups via the randomization method. The intervention group received eight 2-h sessions weekly. The revised child anxiety and depression scale, parent short versions and the self-compassion scale were administered in both groups. The analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) and the repeated measures of analysis of variance (ANOVA) were employed to determine the difference between the intervention and control groups on depression, anxiety, and self-compassion. Results: ANCOVA and repeated measures ANOVA results showed clinically significant changes in depression and anxiety in children and self-compassion in parents in the intervention group (P<0.001). The Mean±SD of depression in the intervention group was 16.50±0.89 at baseline, which significantly decreased to 2.94±3.27 at post-measure and 2.25±3.35 at follow-up (P<0.001). The Mean±SD of anxiety was 18.19±1.87, which significantly decreased to 7.63±4.34 at post-measure and 7.06±4.52 at follow-up (P<0.001). Additionally, the mean and SD score of self-compassion was 56.43±3.14 in pre-intervention, which significantly improved to 97.18±3.72 in post-intervention and 98.25±4.76 at follow-up (P<0.001). Conclusion: The results show that ACT-based parenting is an effective treatment for depression and anxiety in children. This method also improves self-compassion in parents.

Comparison of the Effectiveness of Schema Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Ambiguity Tolerance in Male High School Students

“…There have been no previous studies directly comparing the effectiveness of schema therapy and ACT on ambiguity tolerance, but the effectiveness of each intervention has been studied separately. Overall, the results are consistent with previous research (Arntz et al, 2022;Asli Azad et al, 2020;Azimifar et al, 2018;Baruch et al, 2009;Bratton et al, 2005;de Klerk et al, 2017;Farahzadi et al, 2018;Farrell et al, 2012;Farrell et al, 2009;Ghorbanikhah et al, 2023;Gillanders et al, 2015;Hasannezhad Reskati et al, 2020;McKay, 2012;Mogadam et al, 2018;Nikan et al, 2023;Nikrouy et al, 2022;Norozi et al, 2017;Öst, 2014;Ostadian Khani et al, 2021;Peeters et al, 2022;Renner et al, 2016;Rostami et al, 2019;Ruiz, 2010;Saffarinia & Azizi, 2019;Simpson et al, 2010;Younesi et al, 2021).…”

“…Various studies have confirmed the effectiveness of ACT in reducing depression symptoms (Ghorbanikhah et al, 2023;Öst, 2014), reducing anxiety symptoms (Öst, 2014;Ostadian Khani et al, 2021), improving quality of life and its dimensions, including physical health, psychological health, and social health (Öst, 2014;Rostami et al, 2019), enhancing psychological health and increasing hope for life (Mogadam et al, 2018;Nikrouy et al, 2022), reducing procrastination and improving academic performance (Golestanibakht et al, 2022;Jalili & Mahmoodi, 2021;Ofem, 2023), enhancing attachment quality and altruism in children with externalizing behavior problems (Azimifar et al, 2018;Ofem, 2023), reducing interpersonal problems and experiential avoidance (Baruch et al, 2009;Farahzadi et al, 2018;McKay, 2012;Norozi et al, 2017), and increasing self-compassion among self-harming students both in posttest and follow-up stages (Ghorbanikhah et al, 2023;Gillanders et al, 2015), and enhancing cognitive emotion regulation and increasing ambiguity tolerance in students with obsessive-compulsive disorder (Asli Azad et al, 2020).…”

“…The following protocol, originally designed by Hayes and Strosahl in 1999 and revised in 2019, was conducted in 15 group sessions of 45 minutes each for the experimental group (Ghorbanikhah et al, 2023;Hasannezhad Reskati et al, 2020).…”