Effect of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Anxiety and Alexithymia of Mothers Having Children with Insecure Attachment
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Objective: Psychologically healthy mothers who create a happy and peaceful environment can raise children with a secure attachment style. This research investigates the impact of acceptance and commitment therapy on anxiety and alexithymia in mothers with children exhibiting insecure attachment styles.
Methods and Materials: The research employs a semi-experimental design with pre-test/post-test measures and control and experimental groups. The statistical population comprises mothers with children exhibiting insecure attachment styles in health, educational, therapeutic, and preschool centers in Tehran during the spring and summer of 2023. The data collection tools included Kappenberg and Halpern's attachment questionnaire (2006), Beck's anxiety scale questionnaire (1998), and the Toronto alexithymia scale questionnaire (1994). An intervention program utilizing Hadi Toroghi and Amiri Hashemi's (2021) acceptance and commitment therapy package was administered to the experimental group. This research employed the analysis of covariance method to examine the pre-test and post-test data with SPSS Software by Version 23.
Findings: The results indicated that the level of anxiety and alexithymia underwent significant changes following the intervention of ACT. Acceptance and commitment therapy was effective in reducing anxiety (F=24.720, P=0.001) and alexithymia (F=0.256, P=0.0358) in mothers with children exhibiting insecure attachment styles.
Conclusion: Counseling and psychotherapy centers should consider implementing these methods, particularly acceptance and commitment therapy, more widely and with a greater focus.
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