The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Reducing the Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders in Children from at Risk Families

The present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy in reducing the symptoms of anxiety disorders in children from at risk families. Pretest, posttest, follow-up research design (with control group) was utilized in this quasi-experimental study.  The statistical population of the study comprised all children from at risk families in Tehran in 2018 who were enrolled in Kousha Cultural Support Center from among whom 30 girls aged between 10 and 15 were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria by purposeful sampling. Three subjects dropped out of the experiment whilst it was taking place. This resulted in the elimination of three participants from the control group. As a result, there were 12 participants in each of the experimental and control groups. The subjects in the experimental group received 10 sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy; however, the control group was not exposed to any intervention. The data were collected by Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (1997) and analyzed via repeated measures ANOVA. Data analysis revealed that the intervention based on acceptance and commitment reduced anxiety in the experimental group. Furthermore, the effects of the experimental condition persisted over time until the follow-up phase. Hence, it is recommended that counseling and support centers use this intervention to reduce the symptoms of anxiety disorders in children from at risk families and child labor.