The impact of Emotion Regulation Training on Mental health in Mothers of Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity Disorder

Hyperactivity disorder / attention deficit negatively affects mother-child interaction and can impair family function, especially the mothers. Defects in management and emotion regulation are among the factors affecting mothers of children with behavioral disorders. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Training in Mental health among Mothers of Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity Disorder.
In this study, 44 mothers of children aged 4-12 years with hyperactivity/attention deficit were selected through convenience sampling and divided into two intervention and control groups. The intervention group participated in 8 sessions of 90-minute Emotion Regulation Training based on Gross Model. General health was determined at the end of the eighth session as well as one month after the intervention.
Data were analyzed using independent t-test, ANOVA with repeated measures and Bonferroni post hoc test.
Emotion Regulation Training can improve mental health in Mothers of Children with hyperactivity Disorder (P˂0.001). Furthermore, this improvement was observed in other aspects of mother's mental health including physical complaints, anxiety, depression and social functioning (P˂0.001).
Based on the findings, it is recommended to use emotion regulation training for mothers of children with hyperactivity/attention deficit to improve their mental health.