Comparing the Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Parenting and Mindful Parenting on Emotional Expressiveness and Emotional Empathy in Children with a History of Emotional Trauma

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD student, Department of Psychology, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran

2 Department of Psychology, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran

3 Department of Psychology, Borujen Branch, Islamic Azad University, Borujen, Iran

10.22034/jmpr.2025.69216.6822

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate Comparing the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment parenting and mindful parenting on emotional expressiveness and emotional empathy in 9- to 11-year-old children with a history of emotional trauma. The current study was a experimental application with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group and a two-month follow-up period. The statistical population of the study included all children aged 9 to 11 with a history of emotional trauma, studying in elementary schools in the 6th district of Isfahan in the academic year 2024-2025. The statistical population of the study included children aged 9 to 11 with a history of emotional trauma in Isfahan who were studying in elementary schools in the academic year 2024-2025. In this research, 53 children were selected by purposeful sampling and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (18 children in the first experimental group, 18 children in the second experimental group, and 17 children in the control group). Then, the parents of the children in the experimental groups received acceptance and commitment parenting (Butler, 2015) and mindful parenting (Bögels, Restifo, 2014) in eight weeks (8 sessions, one 90-minute session per week). Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ; Bernstein et al, 2003), Emotion Expression Scale for Children (EESQ; Penza-Clyve, Zeman, 2002) and Emotional Empathy Questionnaire (EEQ; Jolliffe, Farrington, 2006) were used in the present study. The data were analyzed through mixed ANOVA via SPSS23 software. The results showed that acceptance and commitment parenting and mindful parenting have a significant effect on emotional expressiveness (p<0.001) and emotional empathy (p<0.001) of children with a history of emotional trauma. Based on the results of the present study, there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two methods. Accordingly, both methods were equally effective and therapists can use one or both of them based on each family's preference, skill, or specific circumstances.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Modern Psychological Researches
Volume 20, Issue 80
January 2026
Pages 129-147

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History

  • Receive Date: 18 September 2025
  • Revise Date: 15 November 2025
  • Accept Date: 20 November 2025

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