The Effec of Parenting Program based on Mindfulness on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Mothers with Children with Gender Dysphoria

Since two gender groups are established in societies, it is not surprising that some parents suffer from psychological problems due to shame and embarrassment as soon as they learn about their children's gender selection. The present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of a parenting program based on mindfulness on depression, anxiety, and stress in mothers with children with gender dysphoria. The research design was a semi-experimental type with an experimental group and a control group, in which a pre-test-post-test design with a follow-up period was used. The statistical population of the research was made up of all mothers with children with gender dysphoria in Tehran in 2023, and 30 of them were selected based on the gender identity questionnaire )Deogracias et al, 2007( and a clinical interview structured according to DSM-5 criteria with their children. and were randomly replaced in the experimental group (15 people) and the control group (15 people). The selected subjects in both groups were measured by the pre-test and depression, anxiety, and stress questionnaire (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1996), after that the parenting program based on mindfulness (Bögels & Restifo, 2014) was taught to the experimental group, but the control group received no training. did not receive After the training, a post-test was conducted in both groups, and a follow-up test was conducted in both groups after three months. The obtained data were analyzed using the statistical method of variance with repeated measurement and Bonferroni's post hoc test in SPSS software. The results of the research showed that the parenting program based on mindfulness improved the level of depression, anxiety, and stress in mothers with children with gender dysphoria, and this improvement was maintained until the follow-up stage (P<0.05). Based on this, this type of training can be used to improve the psychological condition of this group of mothers.