The Effectiveness of Schema-based Parenting Education on Parent-Child Relationship and Parenting Stress of Mothers

Introduction: The mental health and healthy development of young children is influenced bythe parenting style of their mothers. Therefore, this research was conducted with the aim ofdetermining the effectiveness of schema-based parenting education on the parent-childrelationship and parenting stress of mothers.Methodology: This was a semi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test design with acontrol group. The population consists of mothers with young children in Shiraz (Iran) in۲۰۲۲. Based on the inclusion criteria, ۳۰ subjects were selected randomly and randomlyassigned into experimental and control groups of ۱۵ subjects. The studied mothers wereevaluated with the demographic, Pianta parent-child relationship scales (CPRS) and parentingstress short form (PSI). The experimental group went under ۱۲ sessions of ۹۰ minutes twice a weekintervention, as the control group was held back on training. The data were analyzed usingmultivariate covariance analysis (MANCOVA).Results: The findings showed that schema-based parenting education led to the improvementof the parent-child relationship and reduced the parenting stress of mothers with children(P<۰.۰۰۱). The largest effect sizes were ۸۸% and ۷۲% for Parenting Stress and parent-childrelationship respectively.Conclusion: The present study showed that schema-based parenting training can increase inthe parent-child relationship and reduction in parenting stress in mothers with young children.Therefore, the use of this simple, useful, and low-cost method is recommended by mentalhealth professionals in the community of mothers with young children.