Effectiveness of Parent-Child Interaction Group Training on Behavioral Problems and Mother-Child Relationship in Mentally Retarded Children

Introduction: Mentally retarded is accompanied with many problems including relationship difficulty with parents and behavioral problems, and one of the training methods for reducing behavioral and communication problems is parent-child interaction training. As a result, the aim of this study was determine the effectiveness of parent-child interaction group training on behavioral problems and mother-child relationship in mentally retarded children. Methods: Present study was a semi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design with control group. The research population was mentally retarded female students who referred to counseling and psychological services centers in Ahvaz city in the academic years of 2018-19. From them 24 people were selected by available sampling method and randomly assigned into two equal groups (each group 12 people). The experimental group trained 10 sessions of 60-minute with the method of parent-child interaction group training and the control group was placed on the waiting list for training. The research instruments were the questionnaires of Rutter’s behavioral problems (1967) and Pianta’s mother-child relationship (1994). Data were analyzed by SPSS-21 software and with univariate analysis of covariance method. Results: The findings showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of behavioral problems and mother-child relationship. In the other words, parent-child interaction group training led to reduced behavioral problems (F=61/794, P<0/001) and improved mother-child relationship (F=58/337, P<0/001) in mentally retarded children. Conclusions: Based on the results, it is recommended that to use parent-child interaction group training along with other training methods for reduce behavioral problems and improve mother-child relationship in mentally retarded children.