The effectiveness of unified transdiagnostic treatment protocols on parental stress and depression in adolescents with type 1 diabetes

The experience of diabetes by children can be stressful for parents. On the other hand, diagnosing depression in adolescents is important. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of unified transdiagnostic treatment protocols on parental stress and depression in adolescents with type 1 diabetes. The present study was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population included all adolescents aged 12-15 years with type 1 diabetes referred to the Iranian diabetes society and their parents in 2020. Forty-four participants were selected using convenience and purposive sampling, after which they were randomly divided into two groups (n=22). Parenting stress index (Abidin, 1990) and Child behavior checklist (Achenbach, 1991) were used to assess parental stress and adolescent depression, respectively, before and after treatment. The experimental group received the program during seventeen sessions. Data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance. There were significant differences between the groups in terms of parental stress (P<0.005) and adolescent depression (P<0.001), indicating the effectiveness of unified transdiagnostic treatment protocols on decreasing parental stress and also depression in adolescents with type 1 diabetes. The unified transdiagnostic treatment protocols are effective in decreasing parental stress and also depression in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.