The effect of parenting training program on depression, anxiety and stress of mothers of children with attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder

Background and Aim: Living with children with Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder can cause significant psychological problems such as stress, anxiety, and depression for their parents. For decreasing these problems, using psychological interventions is necessary. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of a parenting education program on depression, anxiety, and stress of mothers with Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder children in Yasuj. Methods: The present study is a randomized trial study that was conducted in psychiatric clinics affiliated to Yasouj University of Medical Sciences in 2015. Sixty four mothers who have children with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder with moderate to high levels of depression, anxiety, and stress were randomly assigned to the control and intervention groups. Mothers in the intervention group participated in 8 sessions of parenting training classes based on the Saunders protocol. Mothers in the control group received routine care. Before and one month after the intervention, motherschr(chr(chr('39')39chr('39'))39chr(chr('39')39chr('39'))) depression, anxiety, and stress were assessed using the DASS42 questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21. Results: Participants in the two groups did not differ from each other in terms of demographics variables such as age, sex, education, and age of the child (p> 0.05). The mean scores of depression, anxiety, and stress in mothers in the intervention and control groups before the training program were 19.06, 15.2, 20.8, and 17.8, 16.1, 21.1, respectively. Based on the results of the paired t-test, the difference between the means score between the two groups was not significant (p> 0.05). The mean scores of depression, anxiety, and stress in mothers in the intervention and control groups after the training program were 14.7, 12.5, 16.5, and 18.2, 19.2, 20.5, respectively. Based on the results of the paired t-test, the difference between the means score between the two groups was statistically significant (p <0.05). Conclusion: Parenting education to mothers of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in Yasuj as a non-pharmacological psychological intervention significantly reduced the rate of psychological disorders among them. It is recommended that in the form of holistic medicine and nursing, this method be used to empower mothers who have children with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder.