Journal of School of Public Health and

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Background and Aim: Families with diabetic children face various problems and challenges such as child psychological problems, behavioral problems and a low quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of promoting the quality of life of parents of diabetic children on clinical symptoms in their children.

Materials and Methods: This was a pre-test and post-test semi-experimental research with a control group. The statistical sample included 32 diabetic children and their parents, selected in 2 stages using the convenience random sampling method from among Tehran Diabetes Association members, randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. The experimental group received education about quality of life promotion in ten 2-hour sessions. Data were collected using the child clinical symptoms questionnaire (CSI-4-Child Symptom Inventory) and analyzed by multi-variate analysis of covariance using SPSS 20.

Results: The average post-test scores of emotional-behavioral symptoms in the experimental and control groups were significantly different (F=19.20, F=24.53, F=21.01, P<0.01). Furthermore, the experimental group mean scores were significantly lower than the control values, indicating a positive effect of the comprehensive quality of life promotion program on the children's emotional-behavioral symptoms.

Conclusion: Education about promoting the quality of life imparted to parents of diabetic children can significantly affect clinical symptoms in the diabetic children, decreasing the symptoms. Therefore, such education is recommended in order to promote the quality of life and reduce psychological distress in families of children with diabetes.

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Background and Aim: The objective of this study was to design and examine the effectiveness of a parent-child relationship improvement program in reducing the externalized problems in children with Down's syndrome. A parent-child relationship improvement program was designed, followed by assessing its effectiveness in a random sample of pupils using a quasi-experimental research design with a pre-test, post-test and follow-up.
Materials and Methods: The study population was all the pupils with Down’s syndrome in the schools for exceptional student in Tehran and their parents in the academic year 2016-2017. The parents and their children were divided into two experimental and control groups.
Thirty-six out of 56 mothers were screened based on a diagnostic interview and inclusion and exclusion criteria and completed the CBCL and parent-child relationship questionnaires in the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up stages. Data analysis was performed using the multivariate covariance analysis with repeated measurements.
Results: The results showed that the mean post-test scores were statistically significantly different between the control and experimental groups, the mean scores of the experimental group being lower than those of the control group, which indicates a positive effect of the family-centered intervention.
Conclusion: Based on the findings, it is concluded that the parent-child relationship improvement program can reduce the subscales of conflict and dependence and increase the subscale of intimacy in the parent-child relationships. Moreover, it can also reduce behavioral problems in children with Down’s syndrome.

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Background and Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of family-based interventions on clinical symptoms and social skills of hyperactive children.
Material and Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with pre- and post-test. A total of 28 school students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) referring to a Psychiatric and Rehabilitation Counseling Center along with their parents were selected using the available sampling method as the main sample of the study. They were then divided into two equal groups ─ an experimental group receiving intervention (family therapy) and a control group receiving no intervention. The research tools were the Inderbitzen and Foster Adolescents Social Skills Questionnaire (CWS, 1992) and the Conners Parent Questionnaire (1999). Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data.
Results: Analysis of the data showed that family-based interventions can lead to increases in social skills and decrease clinical symptoms in children with ADHD.
Conclusion: It is concluded that family-based intervention can result in enhancing social skills and reducing clinical symptoms in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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Background and Aim: This study aimed to improve the symptoms of children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), relationships between parents and children, and marital satisfaction using the family-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).
 Materials and Methods: This was a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest research. The statistical population was all of the 9- to 12-year-old school students suffering from OCD who had consulted the Psychological and Consultation Services Center during academic year 2015-2016 in the city of Tehran. A sample of 28 students selected randomly were assigned to an experimental and a control group. The following questionnaires were completed initially (pre-test) and finally (post-test): 1. Questionnaires completed by the mothers of the children: the Spence Anxiety Scale-Parent Form, the Parent-Child Relationship Questionnaire and the Afrooz Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire (short form); 2. The questionnaires completed by the children: the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale. The intervention program was designed based on CBT and included 22 sessions, eight group sessions for mothers, eight individual play therapy sessions for children, and two specific sessions for each family.

Results: Data analysis using multivariate analysis of covariance showed that family-based cognitive-behavioral therapy was effective in improving marital satisfaction and parent-child interaction as well as reducing child anxiety (p <0.01).

Conclusion: Based on the findings, it can be concluded that family-based cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention may lead to improved relationship between parents and children with obsessive-compulsive disorder and marital satisfaction, as well as reduced anxiety of these children and their parents. 

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Background and Aim: Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is experiencing some physical and psychological symptoms in the last days of the menstrual cycle; it interferes with educational, social and family functioning, creating problems for the adolescents. The objective of this study was to determinee the effectiveness of a transdiagnostic treatment program on anxiety, depression and stress in female adolescents with premenstrual syndrome and their mothers' quality of life.
Materials and Methods: This experimental study was conducted on 26 female adolescents with PMS referring to two health centers in Tehran, Iran in 2019. They were divided randomly in 2 groups, namely, an intervention (n=12, attending six 90-minute session per week‎) and a control (n=14) group. Data were gathered using the WHO Quality of Life, Beck depression, the DASS and PMS Screening Tool (PSST) questionnaires initially and after one month. The repeated ANOVA test was used for data analysis using SPSS software version 21; a p-value of <5% was considered to show statistical significance.

Results: As compared to the control group, at the end of the period the intervention group showed a statistically significant decrease in the means of the three variables of depression, anxiety and stress (p <0.05). The decrease significantly improved the quality of life of the mothers.

Conclusion: The findings of this study show that a transdiagnostic treatment program can be an effective method to reduce the psychological problems of adolescent girls and improve the quality of life of their mothers.