Investigating the Effect of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Irritability and Emotional Numbness in Children of Veterans Suffering from War-Induced Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Background and Aim: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the fourth most prevalent psychological disease that not only disrupts the different live domains of the affected individuals but also negatively influences their spouses and children. The present study investigates the effect of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on emotional irritability and numbness in the children of veterans suffering from war-induced PSTD. Methods: The design of the present study is a randomized controlled clinical trial with pretest and posttest. Participants were selected by simple random sampling from the children of veterans with war-induced PTSD. According to the inclusion criteria, 70 girls and boys with an age range of 15-19 years were selected and randomly assigned into two 35-person groups, including the experimental group (Acceptance and commitment therapy, ACT) and the control group (training life skills for adolescents). Before and after the intervention, the participants filled out the questionnaire of Crick et al. and the emotional numbness subscale of the post-traumatic stress disorder checklist (PCL). The experimental group received ACT for 8, 60-90-minute sessions, and the control group was provided with 7, 60-90-minute sessions on life skill protocols for adolescents. Finally, the obtained data were analyzed by the SPSS 22 software. Results: The results showed that the irritability averages of both groups were significantly different in the posttest (P<0.01). Furthermore, the ANCOVA results revealed that the posttest scores of both groups were not significantly different in the emotional numbness variable (P>0.05). Conclusion: The findings of this study displayed that ACT reduced irritability in the children of veterans suffering from PTSD. Thus, this therapeutic method can be employed in mental health and counseling centers for improving the symptoms of these children.