Objective: Emotion Coaching Parenting Program (ECPP) is one of the treatment programs focused on emotions and targets the way parents and children interact emotionally. Although the effectiveness of ECPP on children with internalizing disorders has been proved previously, the effects of this program have not been investigated in Iranian preschoolers with a range of internalizing disorders. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to examine the effects of ECPP when used by mothers of preschoolers with internalizing disorders.
Methods: The current randomized controlled trial was done on 31 participants who were randomly assigned to the ECPP (n=15) and control (n=16) groups that completed all treatment sessions. Data were collected at three stages of pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 3-months follow-up, using Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Emotion Regulation Checklist, Achenbach’s Child Behavior Checklist, and Maternal Emotional Styles Questionnaire.
Results: Repeated measures ANOVA tests were conducted to test differences between the intervention and control groups for maternal emotion regulation and maternal emotion coaching. The results indicated significant improvements in emotional awareness and emotion regulation of mothers in the intervention group at post-intervention and follow-up compared with the pre-intervention, while no significant improvements were found in the control group. Children in both groups showed improvements in emotional lability/negativity at post-intervention, but the improvements were significantly higher in the intervention group. Children of the intervention group also showed higher improvements in emotion regulation compared with the control group. Additionally, significant reductions in the symptoms of children’s internalizing disorders at post-intervention and follow-up were observed in the intervention group compared with the control group.
Conclusion: ECPP can be one of the effective treatments for reducing the symptoms of children’s internalizing disorders and improving the emotion regulation of parent and child.