The effect of reflective parenting on children’s separation anxiety symptoms, parent-child relationship, and emotional style in mothers of children with separation anxiety disorder

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D. student in psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

2 Associate professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

3 Assistant professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

4 Professor, Department of Psychology and Education of Children with Special Needs, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

10.22038/JFMH.2025.88497.3250

Abstract

Introduction: Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is the most common anxiety disorder in children, in which parental factors play a significant role. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of reflective parenting on children’s separation anxiety symptoms, parent-child relationship, and emotional style in mothers of children with separation anxiety disorder.
 
Materials and Methods: The statistical population included all mothers of children aged 4 to 6 years with separation anxiety disorder residing in Isfahan-Iran, in 2023. From this population, 30 mothers were selected through purposive sampling from kindergartens in Isfahan and were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Pre-test measures included the Separation Anxiety Assessment Scale (SAAS), the Child-Parent Relationship Scale (CPRS), and the Maternal Emotional Style Questionnaire (MESQ), which were administered to both groups. The reflective parenting intervention was presented to the experimental group in ten sessions, and then post-test and follow-up test were administered to both groups. Data were analyzed using mixed multivariate analysis of variance.
 
Results: Compared to the control group, the experimental group showed significant changes that were maintained at follow-up (P< 0.001), including reductions in children’s separation anxiety symptoms and mothers’ emotion-dismissing style, as well as improvements in parent-child relationship quality and mothers’ emotion-coaching style.
 
Conclusion: Reflective parenting can enhance the parent-child relationship, promote emotion-coaching style in mothers, and reduce both separation anxiety symptoms in children and emotion-dismissing style in mothers.
 

Keywords

References

  1. Fu M. The importance of the parent-child relationship to children's psychological development. Lect Notes Educ Psychol Public Media 2023; 6: 286-91.
  2. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5-TR. Washington: American Psychiatric Association; 2022: 217-222.
  3. Zarafshan H, Mohammadi MR, Salmanian M. Prevalence of anxiety disorders among children and adolescents in Iran: A systematic review. Iran J Psychiatry 2015; 10(1): 1-7.
  4. Behmanesh B, Abolmaali Alhosseini K, Azadi M. Explaining separation anxiety: A qualitative study. J Res Psychopathol 2023; 4(11): 17-22.‏
  5. Guantia GB. The lived experiences of teachers and parents on kindergarten learners’ separation anxiety. Proceeding of the 4th International Conference on Multidisciplinary Industry and Academic Research. Institute of Industry and Academic Research Incorporated; 2023: 493-503.
  6. Kraus S, Hernández C, Kovács E. Parental anxiety and child separation anxiety: The mediating role of overprotective parenting. AFTJ 2025; 6(5): 1-10.
  7. Aghebati A, Joekar S, Hakim Shoshtari M, Gharraee B, Maghami Sharif Z. Parenting programme for mothers of children with separation anxiety disorder: Benefits for Iranian mothers and children. Early Child Dev Care 2021; 191(15): 2459-68.‏
  8. Maag B, Phelps RA, Kiel EJ. Do maternal parenting behaviors indirectly link toddler dysregulated fear and child anxiety symptoms?. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2021; 52(2): 225-35.
  9. Bowlby J. Separation: Anxiety and anger. New York: Basic Books; 1973.
  10. Zahl-Olsen R, Severinsen L, Shahar B, Stiegler JR, Bertelsen TB. Emotion‐focused skills training for parents with anxious children: A pilot study. J Marital Fam Ther 2023; 49(3): 581-94.‏
  11. Chen FM, Lin HS, Li CH. The role of emotion in parent-child relationships: Children’s emotionality, maternal meta-emotion, and children’s attachment security. J Child Fam Stud 2012; 21(3): 403-10.
  12. Gottman JM, Katz LF, Hooven C. Parental meta-emotion philosophy and the emotional life of families: Theoretical models and preliminary data. J Fam Psychol 1996; 10: 243–68.
  13. Rienks K, Salemink E, Sigurðardóttir LBL, Melendez-Torres GJ, Staaks JP, Leijten P. Supporting parents to reduce children’s anxiety: A meta-analysis of interventions and their theoretical components. Behav Res Ther 2025; 185: 1-11.
  14. Kazemeini T, Sepehri Shamloo Z, Mashhadi A, Moddares Gharravi M. The effectiveness of psycho-educational program based parental reflective functioning on the improvement of children with separation anxiety disorder: A single subject study. Int J Health Stud 2019; 5(9): 30-7.
  15. Cooper A, Redfern S. Reflective parenting: A guide to understanding what's going on in your child's mind. London: Routledge; 2016.
  16. Karimnejad Isfahani R, Ansari Shahidi M, Dehghani A. [Examining the effectiveness of reflective parenting training on emotion regulation and parent-child relationship in mothers with children under 6 years]. Journal of women psychology 2024; 5(3). (Persian)
  17. Huynh T, Kerr ML, Kim CN, Fourianalistyawati E, Chang VYR, Duncan LG. Parental reflective capacities: A scoping review of mindful parenting and parental reflective functioning. Mindfulness (N Y) 2024; 15(7): 1531-602.‏
  18. Menashe-Grinberg A, Shneor S, Meiri G, Atzaba-Poria N. Improving the parent-child relationship and child adjustment through parental reflective functioning group intervention. Attach Hum Dev 2022; 24(2): 208-28.
  19. Shao R, Liu S, Coplan RJ, Chen X, Liu J. Examining a complex model linking maternal reflective functioning, maternal meta-emotion philosophies, and child emotion regulation. Children 2023; 10(7): 1-19.‏
  20. Anjomshoaa B, Kimiaei A, Seyed Mousavi P, Kareshki H. [Determination of the efficacy of an adapted parental reflective functioning program on the stress of anxious mothers]. Journal of psychological sciences 2024; 23: 73-88. (Persian)
  21. Stuhrmann LY, Göbel A, Bind C, Mudra S. Parental reflective functioning and its association with parenting behaviors in infancy and early childhood: A systematic review. Front Psychol 2022; 13: 1-17.
  22. Silverman WK, Albano AM. Anxiety and related disorders interview schedule for DSM-5, child and parent version: Clinician manual. New York: Oxford University; 2024.‏
  23. Talaienejad N, Ghanbari S, Mazaheri MA, Asgari A. [Preliminary properties of separation anxiety assessment scale (parent version)]. Developmental psychology 2016; 12: 225-35. (Persian)
  24. Hahn LG. An evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Separation Anxiety Assessment Scales (SAAS). Ph.D. Dissertation. New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson University; 2006.
  25. Taylor S. An investigation of the relationship between black single mothers' myth/stereotype acceptance, parental self-efficacy, and childrearing practices. Ph.D. Dissertation. Massachusetts: Boston College; 2006.
  26. Abareshi Z, Tahmasian K, Mazaheri M A, Panaghi L. [The impact of psychosocial child development training program, done through improvement of mother-child interaction, on parental self-efficacy and relationship between mother and child under three]. Journal of research in psychological health 2009; 3(3): 49-58. (Persian)
  27. Lagacé‐Séguin DG, Coplan RJ. Maternal emotional styles and child social adjustment: Assessment, correlates, outcomes and goodness of fit in early childhood. Soc Dev 2005; 14(4): 613-36.‏
  28. Soleimani H, Bashash L. [Factor structure, validity and reliability of the Maternal Emotional Styles Questionnaire (MESQ)]. Knowledge and research in applied psychology 2012; 13(1): 39-48. (Persian)

 

Fundamentals of Mental Health
Volume 28, Issue 1
January and February 2026
Pages 55-63

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics