Raftery-Helmer Jacquelyn N, Hart Ashley S, Levitt Madeline R, Hodge Steven M, Coyne Lisa W, Moore Phoebe S
Department of Psychology, Worcester State University, Worcester, MA, United States.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States.
Front Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2024 Sep 27;3:1347295. doi: 10.3389/frcha.2024.1347295. eCollection 2024.
Anxiety disorders are common, distressing, and impairing for children and families. Cognitive-behavioral interventions targeting the role of family interactions in child anxiety treatment may be limited by lack of attention to antecedents to parental control; specifically, internal parent factors such as experiential avoidance and cognitive fusion. This pilot study evaluates the preliminary efficacy of a group-delivered caregiver treatment program, ACT for Parents of Anxious Children (ACT-PAC) that targets parental experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, and child internalizing symptoms.
Twenty-three youth ages 7-17 years with a primary anxiety disorder diagnosis and their primary caregiver participated in six one-hour, weekly group treatment sessions. Parents and children reported on child symptomatology and parents reported on parent symptomatology and quality of life at two assessment points: within one week before ACT-PAC treatment and within one week after treatment. Parents self-reported on parental internal processes specifically targeted by ACT (e.g., cognitive fusion) weekly during the 6-week treatment.
Results support the feasibility and acceptability of ACT-PAC and indicate reductions in parents' cognitive fusion and child internalizing symptoms.
焦虑症在儿童及其家庭中很常见，令人痛苦且会造成损害。针对家庭互动在儿童焦虑症治疗中作用的认知行为干预可能因未关注父母控制的前因，尤其是诸如经验性回避和认知融合等父母内部因素而受到限制。这项试点研究评估了一项针对父母开展的团体治疗项目——“为焦虑儿童的父母实施接纳与承诺疗法”（ACT-PAC）的初步疗效，该项目针对父母的经验性回避、认知融合以及儿童内化症状。
23名年龄在7至17岁、被诊断患有原发性焦虑症的青少年及其主要照料者参加了为期六周、每周一次、每次一小时的团体治疗课程。父母和孩子报告了儿童的症状，父母在两个评估点报告了自身症状和生活质量：在ACT-PAC治疗前一周内以及治疗后一周内。在为期6周的治疗期间，父母每周自我报告ACT专门针对的父母内部过程（如认知融合）。
结果支持了ACT-PAC的可行性和可接受性，并表明父母的认知融合和儿童内化症状有所减轻。
