محمدباقر حسنوند

Objective This study explored how group Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can help improve the mental well-being of mothers who have children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Method The research method was semi-experimental with a pre-post-test design and a control group. Thirty mothers of children diagnosed with ADHD were recruited and randomly divided into two groups: 15 mothers participated in seven weekly ACT sessions, while 15 mothers formed the control group. We measured mental well-being using the Mental Comfort Questionnaire and analyzed the results using ANCOVA to account for initial differences. Results Mothers who attended the ACT sessions showed significant improvements in several areas of mental comfort, including positive emotions, self-confidence in coping, elevated feelings, family support, communication within close groups, and overall mental well-being (all p< 0.05). Effect sizes were moderate to large (η² between 0.12 and 0.65). Social support showed a trend toward improvement (p = 0.07), but no significant changes were observed in mental control or social connection. Conclusions Group ACT appears to be an effective approach to enhance various aspects of mental comfort among mothers caring for children with ADHD, promoting greater psychological flexibility and better interpersonal relationships. However, challenges in mental control and social connection suggest that additional or combined therapies might be necessary. These findings support ACT as a flexible, culturally adaptable method to support caregiver mental health.

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a Philosophy for Children Course on aspects of students' school engagement. School engagement is a structure indicating that students can create personal relationships with their teachers in addition to the educational content. For this purpose, a quasi-experimental study was conducted on 7th-grade students (n=128) from 4 classes at the same school as the intervention and control groups. In the current quasi-experimental, pre-test, and post-test study, the independent variable was the philosophy for children (P4C) program (ten 60 minute sessions) and the dependent variables were the school engagement aspects including behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and agency engagements. To analyze the data ANOVA was used. The findings indicated that the score of all four aspects of school engagement were significantly higher in the intervention group who attended the Philosophy for Children Program  than those of the control group. Based on the obtained results, 28.2% of changes in total school engagement were attributed to the P4C program. The results show a significant increase in school engagement and its aspects. Philosophy for Children Program can be used to create an educational atmosphere with the highest relationship to students’ curriculum in which the students can rule out their learning behaviors with high motivation.