The effectiveness of mindful parenting training on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms in male students

M. Amiri, S.A.M. Fatemi, S. Jabbari, A. Nesayan, P. Farmani

Department of Psychology, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran. mo.amiri@znu.ac.ir

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• Psychology

OBJECTIVE: One of the main influential factors in the occurrence of behavioral problems in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the behavior related to the parenting styles. This study aimed at investigating the effect of mindful parenting training on mothers of children with ADHD in reducing the symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention behaviors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The research method was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest control group. The study population consisted of all mothers of children from 8 to 12 years. Therefore, 24 mothers of children with ADHD whose scores in the Connors questionnaire (parent form) were above the cut-off point score and diagnostic interview were selected and randomly paired and assigned into two experimental and control groups. All the mothers were between 30 to 38 years old. The research tools included the Connors questionnaire. Mindful parenting training was accomplished in eight 90-minute sessions for the experimental group. In the end, the two groups completed the questionnaires as post-test. Analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data.

RESULTS: The analysis of the results showed the effect of mindful parenting training on reducing the symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention behaviors of children with ADHD in the experimental group compared to the control group (p-value <0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: The educational and behavioral methods that parents and especially mothers use in response to their children’s problematic and undesirable behaviors can increase the incidence of these behavioral problems in the long run. Hence, it is addressed in this study due to the great importance of changing the behavioral and educational methods of such parents. The findings generally show that mindful parenting education has affected the emotional climate governing parent-child interactions and has reduced behavioral problems in children suffering from ADHD.

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