Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Children with Special Health Care Needs and Their Parents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Arpita Parmar, Kayla Esser, Lesley Barreira, Douglas Miller, Leora Morinis, Yuen-Yu Chong, Wanda Smith, Nathalie Major, Paige Church, Eyal Cohen and Julia Orkin
Additional contact information
Arpita Parmar: Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
Kayla Esser: Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
Lesley Barreira: Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
Douglas Miller: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON LS8 4L8, Canada
Leora Morinis: Institute of Health, Policy, Management & Evaluation, Univeristy of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Yuen-Yu Chong: The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
Wanda Smith: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON LS8 4L8, Canada
Nathalie Major: Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, Canada
Paige Church: Divison of Neonatology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada
Eyal Cohen: Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada
Julia Orkin: Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 15, 1-19

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.

Keywords: acceptance and commitment therapy; children with special health care needs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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