Clinical Psychology: Research and Practice Innovations

Clinical Psychology: Research and Practice Innovations"

The comparison of maternal reflective functioning treatment and schema therapy on separation anxiety, anxiety sensitivity and emotion regulation of preschool children

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Elham Jahangir 1
Khalil Esmaeilpour 2
Zeinab khanjani 3
Majid Mahmoud Alilou 3
1 PhD Student in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
2 Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
3 Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
10.22075/jcp.2024.34507.2921
Abstract
Introduction: This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness and comparison of maternal reflective functioning treatment and schema therapy on separation anxiety, anxiety sensitivity and emotion regulation of preschool children.

Methods: The research method was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest and control group with two-month follow-up. The population of this study consisted of all preschool children with separation anxiety in the Tabriz city in 2023. From this population, 45 children were selected by purposeful sampling and randomly assigned into two experimental groups (maternal reflective functioning, schema therapy) and one control group (15 individuals per group). According to the group they were in, the experimental groups received 9 sessions of maternal reflective functioning treatment or 8 sessions of schema therapy. The research tools included separation anxiety assessment scale-parent version, emotion regulation checklist and childhood anxiety sensitivity index. Data analysis was done using repeated measures analysis of variance.

Results: The findings showed that maternal reflective functioning treatment and schema therapy are effective in reducing the separation anxiety symptoms of preschool children compared to the control group. Also, the results showed that maternal reflective functioning treatment has been more effective than schema therapy in reducing anxiety sensitivity and emotion negativity.

Conclusion: Based on findings, it can be concluded that maternal reflective functioning treatment is an appropriate therapeutic approach in reducing anxiety symptoms and emotional problems of preschool children.
Keywords
anxiety sensitivity
emotion regulation
maternal reflective functioning treatment
schema therapy
separation anxiety
Subjects

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  • Receive Date 20 June 2024
  • Revise Date 06 December 2024
  • Accept Date 07 May 2025
  • First Publish Date 18 August 2025
  • Publish Date 21 March 2026