Effectiveness of the Transdiagnostic Integrated Treatment Program in Emotion Regulation of Mothers and Anxiety of Children with Type I Diabetes

Abstract

Background: Type I diabetes (T1D) is recognized as one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in children. It is accompanied by potentially life-threatening complications which affect the mood, personality, and emotions of children and their families. Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the transdiagnostic integrated treatment program in emotion regulation of mothers and anxiety of children with TD1. Methods: The present experimental ‎study was conducted using the pretest-posttest follow-up control group design. The statistical population included all children with TD1 within the age range of 9-11 years and their mothers who were referred to Iran Diabetes Association in Tehran in 2019-2020. The statistical sample was selected via the convenience (purposive) sampling method from among children with TD1 and their mothers, and the subjects were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) developed by Garnefski et al. and Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) were completed in the pretest, posttest, and follow-up. Diabetic children and their mothers received 15 sessions of the transdiagnostic integrated treatment protocol, while no special training was provided to the control group. Results: The results of the present study indicated that the three measurements performed in pretest, posttest, and follow-up significantly differed regarding children's anxiety and mothers' emotion regulation strategies (e.g., catastrophizing, coping and acceptance, positive thinking, and blaming others) pointing to the effectiveness of transdiagnostic treatment (P= 0.000). Conclusion: The obtained results suggested the effectiveness of the integrated transdiagnostic treatment program in reducing the anxiety of children with type 1 diabetes and improving the emotion regulation of their mothers.