Effects of Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy for Depressive Mothers of Children with Behavior Problems

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to develop a cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBT) for depressed mothers of children between 5–12 years old, with behavior problems and to examine the effectiveness of the program. The CBT group met 8 times in total (2-hour weekly sessions for 8 weeks), followed by a booster session 3 months after the program was completed. Thirty-four mothers of children with behavior problems of the age range 5–12 were sampled; half of the mothers (N = 17) participated in the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Group and the other half, 17 in the Wait List (WL) Control Group. At the post-treatment assessment, the CBT Group reported significantly lower depressive symptoms compared with the WL Group. The CBT Group showed lower scores in self-reported parent-child problems and coercive or punishing parenting behaviors than the WL Group. Also, mothers in the CBT Group reported lower levels of negative automatic thoughts, more respect for the child's opinion, and fewer externalizing behavior problems and total behavior problems in their children. At the 3-month follow-up assessment, mothers in the CBT Group reported lower levels of depressive symptoms, parenting anxiety, parent-child problems, and total social adjustment problems, compared with the pre-treatment assessment. Furthermore, CBT Group mothers reported significantly fewer failures in behavior monitoring of their children, and fewer behavior problems and higher social competence in their children.