Parenting Self-efficacy

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy on parenting self-efficacy and distress tolerance in mothers with insecure attachment styles. Methods:  The research method employed was a quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of this study consisted of all mothers with an insecure attachment style during the 2024-2025 academic year in Ardabil. For this purpose, 30 mothers with an insecure attachment style were selected based on the study's entry criteria using purposive sampling. They were randomly assigned to two experimental groups (15 people) and one control group (15 people). Following a pre-test using the Parenting Self-Efficacy Scale by Dumka et al. (1996) and the Distress Tolerance Scale by Simons and Gaher (2005), the experimental group participated in 8 sessions (2 sessions per week) of 60-minute emotion-focused therapy as developed by Greenberg and Goldman (2019), while the control group maintained their normal routine. The data were analyzed using the multivariate analysis of covariance method in SPSS version 26 software. Results: The findings showed that there was a significant difference between the mean parenting self-efficacy (P≤0.001, F=13.98, η p 2 =0.350) and distress tolerance (P<0.001, F=55.00, η p 2 =0.679) of the experimental and control groups in the post-test. Thus, after implementing emotion-focused therapy, the mean scores of mothers with insecure attachment style in the experimental group increased significantly compared to the control group. Conclusion: As a result, emotion-focused therapy can help mothers with insecure attachment styles enhance their parenting self-efficacy and capacity to tolerate distress. This therapy enables mothers to evaluate and adjust their attachment style, ultimately fostering a secure attachment style.

Objective: Family risk factors such as ineffective parenting by parents, especially mothers, can affect emotional and behavioral problems in adolescents and increase psychological problems of parents such as stress and parenting self-efficacy. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of the positive parenting program on parenting stress and parenting self-efficacy of female heads of households with teenage children. Methods: The current research was Pre-test - post-test with a control group. The research population consisted of all female heads of households under the support of the Yazd Relief Committee in 2020 who had teenage children. The research sample consisted of 20 females as heads of households, who were selected in an available manner and were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. In order to measure the research variables, Domka et al.'s parenting self-efficacy questionnaire (1996) and Abdin's parental stress questionnaire (1967) were used. The interventions were conducted during 8 weekly sessions for 90 minutes, and the covariance method was used for data analysis. Results: The findings showed that positive parenting education has an effect on reducing parenting stress and improving parenting self-efficacy of females as heads of households with teenage children (P<0.05). Conclusion: According to the results, mental health professionals can use a positive parenting program to improve females' psychological health and parenting self-efficacy.