Comparison of Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Parenting Styles Based on Reality Therapy in Mothers’ Impulse Control, Flexibility, and Empathy

A healthy and balanced relationship between parents and children is one of the factors affecting their mental health.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and parenting styles based on reality therapy in the impulse control, flexibility, and empathy of distressed mothers with adolescents within the age range of 11-16 years in Babol, Mazandaran, Iran.

This quasi-experimental study was carried out with a pre-test and post-test design and experimental and control groups. In this study, all the mothers with adolescents of 11-16 years in Babol were chosen as the studied population in 2019. Moreover, 75 female subjects were selected as a sample using the cluster sampling method and divided into two groups. Data collection tools included the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Impulse Control, Flexibility, and Empathy questionnaires. The data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance in SPSS software (version 22).

The obtained findings showed that CBT and teaching parenting styles based on reality therapy affected distressed mothers’ impulse control (Eta=0.52; P<0.0001), flexibility (Eta=0.31; P<0.0001), and empathy (Eta=0.57; P<0.0001), and the degree of the effect of teaching parenting styles based on reality therapy on the studied variables was higher than that reported for CBT.

It can be concluded that CBT and parenting styles based on reality therapy were effective in the impulse control, flexibility, and empathy of distressed mothers with adolescents within the age range of 11-16 years in Babol. Parenting styles based on reality therapy were more effective in distressed mothers’ impulse control, flexibility, and empathy than CBT.