Emotion regulation and online parenting interventions for children with ADHD - A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

<p>Emotion regulation (ER) is a critical issue for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but little is known about how parents’ psychological factors affect ER and adjustment in children with ADHD. This study aimed to investigate the effects of mindful parenting intervention (MP) and emotion coaching parenting intervention (EC) on parents and their children. The randomized controlled trial [ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04999514] included 52 parents of children with ADHD in Hong Kong, who were randomly allocated to one of the three conditions: 1) MP (<em>n</em>=17), 2) EC (<em>n</em>=18), or 3) waitlist control (<em>n</em>=17). The trainings were delivered online during the COVID-19 pandemic, and both interventions consisted of 8 weekly 2.5-hour group sessions. The results showed that both MP and EC participants experienced significant improvements in negative parenting practices (MP: <em>F</em>=11.66, <em>p</em>=.01, <em>η_p²</em>=.21; EC: <em>F</em>=10.09, <em>p</em>=.01, <em>η_p²</em>=.18) and mindful parenting (MP: <em>F</em>=14.73, <em>p</em><.001, <em>η_p²</em>=.25; EC: <em>F</em>=18.32, <em>p</em><.001, <em>η_p²</em>=.29) immediately after the interventions. However, only the MP participants showed a decrease in parenting stress across time (<em>p</em>=.05, Cohen’s <em>d</em>=.57) and an increase in compassion for their children (<em>p</em>=.02, Cohen’s <em>d</em>=.58), while only the EC participants reported improvements in their mental health problems (<em>p</em><.001, Cohen’s <em>d</em>=1.07), use of positive parenting (<em>p</em>=.001, Cohen’s <em>d</em>=.71) and emotion coaching practices (<em>p</em>=.002, Cohen’s <em>d</em>=.83). In addition, benefits reaped from the interventions were translated into improvements in children’s ER and adjustment problems. The positive effects of both MP and EC on the children were mediated by an increase in mindful parenting and a reduction in parenting stress. The EC condition also demonstrated significant indirect effects on children’s outcomes through an enhancement in emotion coaching practices. In conclusion, the present findings underscored the importance of addressing parents’ psychological well-being and their emotion coaching practices when providing support for children with ADHD.</p>