Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Children with Special Health Care Needs and Their Parents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- Forfatter(e)
- Parmar, A. Esser, K. Barreira, L. Miller, D. Morinis, L. Chong, Y. E. Y. Smith, W. Major, N. Church, P. Cohen, E. Orkin, J.
- År
- 2021
- Tidsskrift
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Sider
- 19
- Kategori(er)
- Depresjon og nedstemthet (inkl. både vansker og lidelse) Angst og engstelighet (inkl. både vansker og lidelse) Autismespekter Somatisk sykdom (inkl. smertetilstander)
- Tiltakstype(r)
- Kognitiv atferdsterapi, atferdsterapi og kognitiv terapi
- Abstract
Context: : Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an emerging treatment for improving psychological well-being.
Objective: : To summarize research evaluating the effects of ACT on psychological well-being in children with special health care needs (SHCN) and their parents. Data Sources: An electronic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Ovid/EMBASE and PsycINFO (January 2000-April 2021). Study Selection: Included were studies that assessed ACT in children with SHCN (ages 0-17y) and/or parents of children with SHCN and had a comparator group. Data Extraction: Descriptive data were synthesized and presented in a tabular format, and data on relevant outcomes (e.g., depressive symptoms, stress, avoidance and fusion) were used in the meta-analyses to explore the effectiveness of ACT (administered independently with no other psychological therapy) compared to no treatment.
Results: : Ten studies were identified (child (7) and parent (3)). In children with SHCN, ACT was more effective than no treatment at helping depressive symptoms (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -4.27, 95% CI: -5.20, -3.34; p < 0.001) and avoidance and fusion (SMD = -1.64, 95% CI: -3.24, -0.03; p = 0.05), but not stress. In parents of children with SHCN, ACT may help psychological inflexibility (SMD = -0.77, 95% CI: -1.07, -0.47; p < 0.01). Limitations: There was considerable statistical heterogeneity in three of the six meta-analyses.
Conclusions: : There is some evidence that ACT may help with depressive symptoms in children with SHCN and psychological inflexibility in their parents. Research on the efficacy of ACT for a variety of children with SHCN and their parents is especially limited, and future research is needed.