Journal of School of Public Health and

---

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.

---

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.