Date of Graduation

Spring 2021

Degree

Master of Science in Psychology

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Dana Paliliunas

Abstract

The current study evaluated a remote Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based intervention designed for children implemented with parent involvement. Each parent-child dyad completed a total of nine sessions, which included an introductory session, one baseline session, six ACT-based intervention sessions, and one follow-up session. The study was conducted using a multiple-baseline across participants design. The effects of the intervention on both the parent and child well-being were evaluated using between sessions measures that measured values-based behavior and challenging behaviors. Pre- and post-test measures were taken on psychological flexibility, parent stress, and child behavior. Although the present intervention is designed for the child, it was suspected that the parents would have consequential benefits from participating and interaction with their children during intervention sessions. The intervention was designed to improve psychological flexibility for both children and parents, increase values-directed behavior, and decrease parental stress and challenging behaviors. The results suggested a decrease in challenging behaviors and a minimal increase in parent psychological flexibility. The data surrounding values-based behaviors and values-directed parent-child interaction was inconsistent; therefore, conclusions were not drawn from this data. Further, the results of this study may demonstrate the benefits of a child-focused intervention on challenging behaviors and parent psychological flexibility.

Keywords

acceptance and commitment therapy, parent-child interaction, challenging behaviors, parent stress, psychological flexibility, values-directed behavior, values-directed parent-child interaction

Subject Categories

Clinical Psychology

Copyright

© Crystal K. Tracy

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