The Effectiveness of Attachment-based Parent Training Method on Anxiety Syndrome in Preschool Children

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of attachment-based parent training on anxiety syndrome in 2- to 6-year-old children. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was conducted in this research. For this purpose 278 mothers completed The Spence Preschool Anxiety Scales (SPAS). Among these mothers, 74 whom their children’s anxiety scores were one standard deviation above the population’s mean were selected. They completed the Conner’s Behavioral Rating Scale, which helped to investigate the absence of any other psychological problems in those children. Finally, 61 mothers were selected and assigned to the experimental and control group and received the training package for eight sessions, each session lasting for 2 hours. Three months after finishing the training sessions for the experimental group, the SPAS were completed by mothers in both groups. ANOVA was used to analyze the data. Results: The results showed that the parent training package decreased generalized, social and separation anxiety subscales and total anxiety score in the experimental group more than the control group (p 0.0001). This reduction was sustained during the three months of follow-up, but no significant reduction was observed in the problems related to obsessive compulsive disorder and physical injury phobia after the intervention. Conclusion: It can be concluded that attachment-based parent training can decrease anxiety in preschool children. These results suggest that child therapists can use this method in order to prevent and treat children’s anxiety.