Abstract

Abstract Background and Aim: According to the prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in kids and its respective psychological problems to their parents and in particular their mothers, the present study investigated the effectiveness of training mindful parenting on improving internalizing behaviors of mothers (e.g. Depression and Anxiety) and externalizing behaviors (Rule Breaking Behavior, Aggressive Behavior) of their kids with ADHD. Materials and Methods: The research method was quasi-experimental with pre-test and post-test design with control group. Therefore, 30 mothers whose children were diagnosed as ADHD were chosen through convenient sampling and were matched randomly into experimental and control groups. Depending on the exit criteria for absence from more than one session, the group experienced a decline and the results were analyzed for 24 mothers. The research instruments were CSI-4 (1994), the child behavior check list (CBCL) for Parents (1991) and hospital anxiety and depression questionnaire (1983). Training mothers with mindfulness approach was accomplished in eight 3-hours sessions. In the end both control and experimental groups completed the above-mentioned questionnaires as the post-test. The collected data were analyzed through covariance, added scores and independent sampling t-test. Results: The results revealed the effectiveness of mindful parenting methods on decreasing mother’s anxiety and depression (P<0/05) and also the effectiveness of the method on decreasing children’s externalizing problem (P<0/05) of the experimental group in comparison with the control group. Conclusion: Generally, findings showed that mindful parenting method will decrease the mother’s internalizing problems (Depression and Anxiety) and children’s externalizing problem (Rule Breaking Behavior, Aggressive Behavior). Keywords: Mindful parenting, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) externalizing behaviors, internalizing behaviors