Development and Evaluation of a Mother–Child Interaction Training Package Based on Lived Experience on Empathy in Adolescent Girls with Emotional–Behavioral Problems
Keywords:
Emotional, behavioral problems, training package, adolescent girls, empathy, mother, daughter interactionAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a mother–child interaction training package based on mothers’ lived experiences in improving empathy among adolescent girls with emotional–behavioral problems.
Methodology: This exploratory mixed-method study included a qualitative phase involving 20 mothers of adolescent girls with emotional–behavioral problems selected through purposive and snowball sampling and assessed via semi-structured interviews, analyzed through coding procedures. In the quantitative phase, 16 participants were assigned to experimental and control groups in a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest and two-month follow-up design. Instruments included the CBCL, Basic Empathy Scale, and Parent–Child Interaction Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using mixed ANOVA.
Findings: Results indicated significant main effects of time, group, and time×group interaction on empathy scores (p < 0.001). The experimental group demonstrated significantly higher empathy scores at posttest and follow-up compared to the control group, with sustained effects over time. Effect sizes indicated a strong impact of the intervention on outcome variables.
Conclusion: The mother–child interaction training package based on lived experience is an effective intervention for enhancing empathy in adolescent girls with emotional–behavioral problems and may be applied in family-based mental health programs.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Zaynab Ghaznavi Kashani, Farahnaz Noormohammadi, Hamidreza Rezazadeh Bahadoran (Author)
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