A Comparative Study of the Effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Therapy versus Narrative Therapy on Emotion Regulation (Positive and Negative) in Mothers of Children with Hearing Impairments

Abstract

Background and Aim: A baby is born into a family and begins its first interactions with the environment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy and group narrative therapy on the cognitive emotion regulation of mothers of children with hearing impairments in Shahr-e Kord.

Method: The present study was a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test, post-test, and three-month follow-up with a control group. The statistical population of the present study included mothers of children with hearing impairments who referred to the SINA specialized education center for children with hearing impairments in Shahr-e Kord in 2018-2019. Their number was reported as 96. From the statistical population, 60 mothers were selected using convenience sampling and randomly assigned to three groups. The instruments used in this study were the Emotion Regulation Strategy Scale (2006), the Compassion-Focused Therapy protocol, which is a 12-session intervention based on Gilbert's (2010) treatment plan, and the Narrative Therapy protocol, which is a 12-session intervention based on Payne's (2004) protocol. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 23.

Findings: The results showed that with the experimental intervention, positive and negative emotion regulation changed in the post-test phase, and this change continued in the follow-up phase. The F-value for positive emotion regulation (81.25 and 61.96) and negative emotion regulation (50.86 and 52.42) indicates that the linear and non-linear trend of participants' scores in different levels of positive and negative emotion regulation variables is not the same in the experimental and control groups.

Conclusion: The results of data analysis showed that compassion-focused therapy had a significant effect on the test stages (pre-test, post-test, and follow-up) of positive and negative emotion regulation variables in mothers of children with hearing impairments. Compassion-focused therapy had a significant effect on positive and negative emotion regulation in mothers of children with hearing impairments. The findings also indicated that narrative therapy had a significant effect on positive and negative emotion regulation in mothers of children with hearing impairments.