Community Health Journal

Community Health Journal

The Effectiveness of Group-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Training on the General Health of Mothers of Children with Externalizing Disorders in Qom, 2024

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
H pordel 1
MA madahi 2
L heydarinasab 3
R abbasi 4
1 PhD Student in Clinical Psychology, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Assistant Prof., Dept. of Psychology, Shahed University,Tehran,Iran.
3 Associate Prof., Dept. of Psychology, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.
4 Assistant Prof., Dept.of Psychology, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22123/chj.2025.500424.2157
Abstract
Introduction: Externalizing disorders in children, as one of the common behavioral challenges, can have negative effects on the mental health of parents, especially mothers. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of group-based acceptance and commitment therapy on the general health of mothers with children suffering from externalizing disorders.
Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study utilized a pretest-posttest design with a control group and a one-month follow-up period. The study population consisted of all mothers of children with externalizing behavioral disorders in elementary schools in Qom City during the 2023-2024 academic year (approximately 1,000 individuals). A sample of 30 mothers was selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned into either the intervention group or the control group (15 participants in each group). The intervention group participated in 8 sessions of group-based acceptance and commitment therapy, while the control group did not receive any intervention. Assessments were conducted using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) before and after the intervention and at the follow-up stage. Data were analyzed using a two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures.
Results: The mean and standard deviation of general health scores in the experimental group in the pre-test and post-test were 44.60±2.35 and 34.53±3.85, respectively, and this difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). However, in the control group, the mean and standard deviation of scores in the pre-test and post-test were 44.53±2.50 and 43.83±2.31, respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05).
Conclusion: It appears that group-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) training is effective in improving the general health of mothers of children with externalizing disorders. This training can be used as a complementary approach in parent education. However, the generalizability of the results requires further investigation.
Keywords
Acceptance and commitment therapy
General health
mothers
Externalizing disorders

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Community Health Journal
Volume 18, Issue 4
Spring 2025
Pages 13-27