Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Anxiety and Stress in Mothers of Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common disorders among children, which is associated with symptoms such as hyperactivity, hyperarousal, distraction, and attention deficit. Parents of these children, especially their mothers, suffer from negative emotions such as anxiety and stress. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on anxiety and stress in mothers of children with ADHD.

This research was a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design. The study population included all the mothers of children with ADHD referring to the counseling centers of Isfahan in 2017. The sample included 30 mothers selected by convenience sampling based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. They were assigned to either the experimental or control group (15 per group). Both groups were assessed by Anxiety and Stress Scale- Short Form (Lovibond, 1995) at pretest and posttest stages. The experimental group received eight 90-min sessions of (ACT), while the control group received no intervention. Data were analyzed by ANCOVA.

Results showed that the mean anxiety score (F=22.13, P<0.01) and the mean stress score (F=18.17, P<0.01) significantly decreased in the experimental group in comparison to the control group.

The results of the study indicated that ACT was effective in reducing the stress and anxiety in mothers of children with ADHD. This therapy taught mothers to get rid of annoying thoughts and to accept the events instead of getting away from them. Acceptance occurs in mothers when the emotions are in the field of consciousness and are experienced as they are, without an effort to change their frequency or shape.