The Effect of Integrative Acceptance Commitment-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Parent Management Training on the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms of Adolescent Boy with Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse of children and adolescences is a global phenomenon. These behaviors have a destructive effect on the mental health of adolescents. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of integrative Acceptance Commitment-Cognitive Behavioral therapy (ACT-CBT) and parent management training (PMT) on the post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms of adolescent boy with sexual abuse.

The research method was semi-experimental, and research design was three groups (one group ACT-CBT, one group PMT and one group of control) with three stages of pre-test, post-test and two months follow-up. The statistical population of the study was adolescent boy aged 14 to 18 years old with sexual abuse in Isfahan, among them 45 people were selected based on inclusion criteria and then randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group. The dependent variable measurement instrument was the Weathers et al (1994) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Syndrome Questionnaire. The ACT-CBT and PMT received treatment in 10 sessions. The data were analyzed by repeated measure analysis of variance and post-hoc Bonferroni test.

The results showed that integrative ACT-CBT reduces the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder among adolescent boy with sexual abuse (P<.001), but PMT had no effect on reducing the post-traumatic stress disorder (P<.05).

According to the research findings, it is suggested that the integrative ACT-CBT should be used in the treatment of boy adolescents who encountered with sexual abuse to reduce the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.