Effects of an Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Intervention on Children\u2019s Quality of Life

Essi Sairanen,Raimo Lappalainen,Arto Hiltunen,Päivi Lappalainen

doi:10.1007/s10826-022-02234-z

Essi Sairanen, Raimo Lappalainen + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-022-02234-z

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Abstract

The present study examined if an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)–based online intervention for parents had indirect effects on their children’s quality of life mediated by changes in parental well-being, psychological flexibility and mindfulness skills. Participants were 74 adults, who either received an ACT-based guided online intervention or were allocated to the wait list control group, and their children (n = 66) who had type 1 diabetes or functional disabilities. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and a bias-corrected bootstrap approach were applied to examine the indirect effects of the treatment on children’s quality of life through changes in parents’ well-being and psychological processes involving psychological flexibility, cognitive defusion, and mindfulness skills. Children’s quality of life was assessed both by self-reports and parents’ evaluations. Significant indirect effects on children’s quality of life were found through improvements in parental well-being and mindfulness skills. The intervention had significant indirect effects on parents’ evaluations of their children’s quality of life concerning family and other social relationships, as well as on physical well-being. In regard to children’s self-reported quality of life, the intervention had significant indirect effects on self-esteem, family relations, emotional well-being, and functioning at school/kindergarten. The results indicate that it is beneficial for children’s quality of life to improve parents’ ability to describe their experiences, being non-reactive to one’s inner experiences and acting with awareness as well as cognitive defusion.

Highlights

IntroductionOne promising approach for this population is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), that is, one of the third-wave cognitive behavioral therapies that incorporates methods of acceptance, mindfulness, defusion, and values (Hayes et al, 2006), teaching psychological skills that can be integrated in parents’ daily activities, including interaction with their children
Psychological flexibility is targeted by improving the ability to be in contact with personally important values and one’s own inner experiences, moment-to-moment, in a nonjudgmental way, and to see one’s own thoughts as an ongoing mental activity without getting caught up in them, and to commit to personally meaningful actions
The between-group Effect sizes (ES) at the follow-up time indicated a medium-sized (d ≥ 0.50) difference in change for children’s self-reported physical well-being and social relationships as well as in parents’ reported social relationships, in both cases in favor of the ACT group. These findings suggest that an online ACT intervention for parents can have clinical importance for children’s well-being and social functioning

Summary

Introduction

One promising approach for this population is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), that is, one of the third-wave cognitive behavioral therapies that incorporates methods of acceptance, mindfulness, defusion, and values (Hayes et al, 2006), teaching psychological skills that can be integrated in parents’ daily activities, including interaction with their children. The aim of these methods is to increase psychological flexibility, which is defined as the ability to persist or change one’s own behavior in the service of one’s chosen values while being aware of the situational context and one’s own present moment experience (Kashdan & Rottenberg, 2010).

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