Comparison of the Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Quality of Life and Parent-Child Relationship in Women with Generalized Anxiety Disorder

There is a growing body of literature on the effectiveness of second and third wave psychotherapies for treating generalized anxiety disorder.
The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of cognitive- behavior (CBT) group therapy (Borkovec model) and mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on quality of life and parent-child relationship in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) among female participants.
A semi experimental design using pre and post-test and a four-month follow up was used. The statistical population comprised of females with generalized anxiety disorder, who had at least one primary school-aged daughter in the first and third district of Tehran. The sample consisted of 36 females with GAD. Participants’ selection was based on availability and they were assigned randomly to 2 groups of CBT and MBCT. The research was conducted in the first half of 2014. The following measurement tools were used, GAD-7 questionnaire, world health o quality of life scale (WHO-QOL BREF), and Parent Child Relationship Scale (CPRS). Data were analyzed via Repeated measures analysis of variance test.
Although the results showed efficacy of CBT and MBCT after the intervention and during follow up (P 0.05).
It could be inferred from the results that MBCT could be utilized similar to CBT as an effective treatment in adjunct to pharmacotherapy for females with GAD.