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Effects of an ACT-based Psychological Treatment in Relatives of People With Intellectual Disabilities

Parental Stress, Health and Disabilities. A Training Programme in Psychological Flexibility During COVID 19

Status
UNKNOWN
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05611554
Enrollment
21
Registered
2022-11-10
Start date
2021-12-01
Completion date
2023-02-15
Last updated
2022-12-01

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Parental Stress, Parent-Child Relations

Keywords

stress, acceptance and commitment therapy, health, parent-child relations

Brief summary

Investigation of the efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for the psychological treatment of parental stress in relatives of people with intellectual disabilities

Detailed description

After being informed about the study, all patients giving written informed consent will be assessed to determine eligibility for study entry. Patients who meet eligibility requirements will receive psychological intervention consisting in 3-session group ACT-based treatment. The participants will be assessed through self-report instruments before and after treatment and at 3 months follow-up. The clinical trial will include a control group.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALACT

Psychological intervention focused on (a) values clarification, (b) defusion strategies, (c) training in flexible attention to the present moment (mindfulness), and (d) committed action and psychological acceptance through metaphors and experiential exercises.

Sponsors

Universidad Europea de Madrid
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Masking description

The participants were aware of the existence of the two conditions

Intervention model description

Randomization assigned participants to 2 arms: 1. Treatment 2. Waiting list

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Over 18 years of age * High level of understanding of Spanish * Having children diagnosed with intellectual disability

Exclusion criteria

* Current psychological and/or psychiatric treatment,

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)Change from Baseline perceived stress at 4 monthsPerceived Stress Scale (PSS) is a one-dimensional scale with 14 items that are answered on a Likert-type scale ranging from 0 (Never) to 5 (Very often). The direct scores range from 0 to 56; higher scores indicate higher perceived stress and worse outcome.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Parental Acceptance Questionnaire (6-PAQ)Change from Baseline Psychological Inflexibility at 4 monthsParental Acceptance Questionnaire (6-PAQ) is a 16-item questionnaire on a Likert-type scale with four answer options in a range from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 4 (Strongly Agree) that assesses six processes related to psychological flexibility (being present, values, committed action, self as context, cognitive defusion, and acceptance) and three flexible response styles (opened, centred and committed). The scores vary from 16 to 64; the higher the score, the higher psychological inflexibility levels and worse outcome.
Change in Psychological Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12)Change from Baseline Psychological Well-Being at 4 monthsPsychological Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) contains 12 items on a Likert-type scale with four answer options in a range from 0 (Strongly Disagree) to 3 (Strongly Agree). Higher scores indicate lower levels of psychological well-being and worse outcome.
Change in White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI)Change from Baseline thoughts suppression at 4 monthsWhite Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI) evaluates the tendency to suppress unwanted thoughts. It is a Likert scale of 15 items with five response options ranging from 1 (Completely Disagree) to 5 (Completely Agree). Scores range from 15 to 75. Higher scores indicate a stronger thought suppression tendency and worse outcomes.
Change in Behavioural self-monitoringChange from Baseline punitive-hostile and supportive-companion behaviours at 1 month.Behavioral self-monitoring captures behaviour change. Family members recorded a daily estimation of the frequency of two categories of behaviours: punitive-hostile behaviours from family members to children with disabilities (e.g., shouting, punishments, insults, or aggressions) and supportive-companion behaviours (e.g., helping, shared leisure and recognition or compliments). A Likert-type scale was used to estimate frequency, with values from 0 to 4 (0= never; 1= almost never; 2= sometimes; 3= often; and 4= always) Participants completed daily self-monitoring, starting one week before the intervention (forming the baseline scenario) until one week after the intervention, obtaining a total of 4 measures. Higher scores in punitive-hostile behaviours indicate higher levels of punitive-hostile behaviours and worse outcome. Higher scores in supportive-companion behaviours indicate higher levels of supportive-companion behaviours and better outcome.

Countries

Spain

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026