The Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavior Therapy Based on Parental Education on Emotion Regulation and Irritability in Students with Disruptive Mood Disorders

Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) is a new disorder with challenging diagnosis and treatment. As a result, standard irritability therapies must be used in order to obtain therapeutic implications for the aforementioned disorder. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy based on parental education on emotion regulation and irritability in students with disruptive mood disorders.

The research method was semi-experimental, with pre-test and post-test groups, and contained control and follow-up session. The study's statistical population included all male high school students in East Azarbaijan province during the academic year 2020–2021. The study population included 30 students with disruptive mood disorders who were chosen through a nonprobability purposive sampling method. The Stringaris et al. (2012) Emotional Affective Reactivity Index, the Gross and John Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (2003), and the clinical interview based on the DSM-5 were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using analysis of ANOVA with repeated measures and via statistical package for social sciences version 18.

Family-based cognitive behavioral therapy was found to be significantly effective in reducing irritability and regulating emotions in students with disruptive mood dysregulation disorders (p<0/001). Furthermore, the Bonferroni correction test results revealed that the educational effect persisted throughout the follow-up period (p>0/05).

The current study's findings support the efficacy of family-based cognitive-behavioral therapy and dialectical therapy in reducing irritability and regulating emotions in students with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. Therefore, its use is recommended for treatment specialists in the field of disruptive mood dysregulation disorder.