Comparison of the Effectiveness of Anxiety Management Training for Parents of College Entrance Exam Candidates and Acceptance and Commitment Training on Parenting Adaptability, Parenting Orientation, and Parental Rumination in Mothers of College Entrance Exam Candidates

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of anxiety management training for college entrance exams with acceptance and commitment training on parenting adaptability, parenting orientation, and parenting ruminations of mothers with college entrance exam children. Methodology: The research method was experimental (pre-test-post-test design with control group) with a follow-up phase. The statistical population of the present study consisted of all mothers with college entrance exam children in 1402. In order to select a sample, 60 mothers were selected from these mothers in a convenient manner. Then, these mothers were assigned to three research groups (anxiety management training package group, acceptance and commitment training group, and control group) (twenty people in each group). Both experimental groups received educational interventions, while the control group was on the waiting list. All three groups were evaluated in three stages of pre-test, post-test, and follow-up using research tools. These tools were adaptability (Yousefi et al., 2011), parenting orientation (Sadeghi et al., 2012) and parenting ruminations (Yousefi et al., 2009). Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (repeated measures analysis of variance) were used to analyze the data. Findings: The results showed that both methods were effective in improving the dependent variables, except for the anxiety management method, which did not have a significant effect on parenting orientation. There was no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two methods on parenting adaptability and parenting ruminations. Conclusion: Given these findings, it is suggested that school counselors use these methods to improve parenting adaptability and parenting ruminations.