IRCT | Comparing the effectiveness of Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) program with and without the addition of emotion regulation skills on psychological flexibility, emotion regulation, intolerance of uncertainty, and family accommodation in parents of children with anxiety disorders symptoms

Protocol summary

Study aim: This study aims to compare the effectiveness of a supportive parenting program for children’s anxiety (SPACE) with and without the inclusion of emotion regulation skills on psychological flexibility, emotion regulation, intolerance of uncertainty, and family adjustment in parents of children with anxiety disorder symptoms.
Design: This study consists of three study groups (two intervention groups and one control group) With a factorial group, single blind, simple randomization design, and will include a sample size of 90 participants.
Settings and conduct: After obtaining necessary approvals from the University of Kurdistan, Education Department of Sanandaj, and IRCT, a call for participation will be made among parents of elementary students. Parents of children with a T score above 63 on the Achenbach questionnaire will be selected as study participants. Following screening and verification of inclusion criteria, 90 volunteers will be randomly assigned to three groups (two experimental and one control). An introductory session will explain the research objectives, free treatment sessions, group rules, session scheduling, and attendance requirements. To ensure blinding, the main research purpose will not be disclosed; only that a parenting skills program will be conducted.
Participants/Inclusion and exclusion criteria: Inclusion Criteria: Parents aged 30 to 55 years, with children aged 7 to 11 years exhibiting confirmed anxiety symptoms. Exclusion Criteria: Severe psychiatric disorders or medication use, concurrent psychological interventions, non-cooperation, absence from more than three sessions, failure to complete intervention tasks.
Intervention groups: Intervention Group: Parents of children aged 7 to 11 years with symptoms of anxiety disorders.
Main outcome variables: Improvement of anxiety disorder symptoms in children.

General information

Reason for update
Acronym
IRCT registration information: IRCT registration number: IRCT20260209068801N1

Registration date: 2026-04-12, 1405/01/23

Registration timing: prospective

Last update: 2026-04-12, 1405/01/23

Update count: 0
Registration date: 2026-04-12, 1405/01/23

Registrant information: Name

Zohre Valiei

Name of organization / entity

University of Kurdistan

Country

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Phone

+98 87 3361 8321

Email address

zohre.valiei@uok.ac.ir

Recruitment status: Recruitment complete
Funding source

Expected recruitment start date: 2026-04-21, 1405/02/01
Expected recruitment end date: 2026-05-20, 1405/02/30
Actual recruitment start date: empty
Actual recruitment end date: empty
Trial completion date: empty

Scientific title: Comparing the effectiveness of Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) program with and without the addition of emotion regulation skills on psychological flexibility, emotion regulation, intolerance of uncertainty, and family accommodation in parents of children with anxiety disorders symptoms

Public title: Comparing the effectiveness of Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) program with and without the addition of emotion regulation skills in parents of children with anxiety disorders symptoms
Purpose: Education/Guidance
Inclusion/Exclusion criteria: Inclusion criteria:

Parents aged between 30 to 55 years Parents with children aged between 7 to 11 years Presence of anxiety disorder symptoms in the child (T-score above 63 on the Achenbach questionnaire and confirmed by the researcher based on ADIS for DSM-5)

Exclusion criteria:

History of severe psychiatric disorders according to previous diagnosis by a psychiatrist and parental self-report Use of psychiatric medications in parents Participants must not receive any other psychological interventions simultaneously with the study, to prevent confounding of treatment outcomes Absence from more than three therapy sessions Not completing the specified homework throughout the intervention
Age: From 30 years old to 55 years old
Gender: Both

Phase

N/A

Groups that have been masked

Participant

Sample size

Target sample size: 90

Randomization (investigator's opinion)

Randomized

Randomization description

Randomization method: Simple Unit of randomization: Individual Randomization tool: Random number table in this research, a list of primary school students with anxiety disorders symptoms will be provided and among them, using the random numbers table, 90 people randomly selected and their parents will be invited to research. After primary screening and evaluation of entry criteria, 90 volunteers were selected and assigned randomly in three groups (experimental and one control group). Participants with informed consent participate in the study and will be informed of the allocation of the study groups.

Blinding (investigator's opinion)

Single blinded

Blinding description

Blinding method: Single-blind randomized clinical trial with an Intention-To-Treat (ITT) approach, in which participants who provide informed consent are unaware of their study group allocation. To allocate the participants in the test and control groups and to implement Single-blind randomized in a way that participants are unaware of the allocation of the studied groups cods: 1, 2 and 3 will be used and they will be asked to withdraw a number from the bag that contains cods: 1, 2 and 3. the participants will be totally unaware of the codes and of their study group allocation.

Placebo

Not used

Assignment

Parallel

Other design features

Secondary Ids

empty

Ethics committees

1

Ethics committee: Name of ethics committee

Research Ethics Committees of University of Kurdistan

Street address

Vice Chancellor for Research, Central Administration Building, University of Kurdistan, Pasdaran Street

City

Sanandaj

Province

Kurdistan

Postal code

6617715175
Approval date: 2026-01-09, 1404/10/19
Ethics committee reference number: IR.UOK.REC.1404.058

Health conditions studied

1

Description of health condition studied: Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders in Children
ICD-10 code: F41
ICD-10 code description: Other anxiety disorders

2

Description of health condition studied: Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders in Children
ICD-10 code: F40
ICD-10 code description: Phobic anxiety disorders

3

Description of health condition studied: Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders in Children
ICD-10 code: F93.0
ICD-10 code description: Separation anxiety disorder of childhood

4

Description of health condition studied: Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders in Children
ICD-10 code: F93.1
ICD-10 code description: Phobic anxiety disorder of childhood

5

Description of health condition studied: Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders in Children
ICD-10 code: F93.2
ICD-10 code description: Social anxiety disorder of childhood

Primary outcomes

1

Description: children with anxiety disorders symptoms
Timepoint: At baseline (prior to the initiation of the intervention), immediately after completion of the intervention, and at 1 and 3 month follow-ups after the intervention (One and Three Month Follow up)
Method of measurement: Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Youth Anxiety Measure for DSM-5- Parent version (YAM-5)

Secondary outcomes

1

Description: Parental Psychological Flexibility
Timepoint: At baseline (prior to the initiation of the intervention), immediately after completion of the intervention, and at 1- and 3-month follow-ups after the intervention (One and Three Month Follow up)
Method of measurement: Parental Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire (6-PAQ)

2

Description: Parental Intolerance of Uncertainty
Timepoint: At baseline (prior to the initiation of the intervention), immediately after completion of the intervention, and at 1- and 3-month follow-ups after the intervention (One and Three Month Follow up)
Method of measurement: Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS-12)

3

Description: Parental Emotion Regulation
Timepoint: At baseline (prior to the initiation of the intervention), immediately after completion of the intervention, and at 1- and 3-month follow-ups after the intervention (One and Three Month Follow up)
Method of measurement: Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ)

4

Description: Parental Family Accommodation
Timepoint: At baseline (prior to the initiation of the intervention), immediately after completion of the intervention, and at 1- and 3-month follow-ups after the intervention (One and Three Month Follow up)
Method of measurement: Family Accommodation Scale for Anxiety (FASA)

5

Description: Child Emotion Regulation
Timepoint: At baseline (prior to the initiation of the intervention), immediately after completion of the intervention, and at 1- and 3-month follow-ups after the intervention (One and Three Month Follow up)
Method of measurement: Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC)

6

Description: Child Intolerance of Uncertainty
Timepoint: At baseline (prior to the initiation of the intervention), immediately after completion of the intervention, and at 1- and 3-month follow-ups after the intervention (One and Three Month Follow up)
Method of measurement: Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale- Parent version (IUSC-12)

Intervention groups

1

Description: Intervention group 1: Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) program. SPACE program is a cognitive intervention designed in the form of 12 session 60 minute weekly designed to help parents reduce anxiety through family accommodation and dysfunctional parenting strategies. space program focuses on modifying the dysfunctional attitudes of parents that are inadvertently strengthening and sustaining anxiety symptoms in children (behaviors such as self confidence , avoidance and doing things instead of a child). this protocol focuses on the role of parents in direct or indirect influence on the formation or continuation of children's anxiety symptoms. In this therapeutic approach, the researcher taught parents for 12 weekly sessions of how to prevent and continue anxiety behaviors of their children and how to reduce their accommodation and thereby increase their accommodation and subsequently increase their performance.
Category: Behavior

2

Description: Intervention group 2: Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) program with addition of emotion regulation skills. The content of the program includes mental training and training to parents within a 12 sessions of 90 minutes that in addition to SPACE program, training and regulating emotions to parents are included. This treatment protocol is a structured approach to reduce anxiety in children by teaching efficient parenting to parents and training of emotion regulation skills. Considering the fact that SPACE program like most of the existing therapeutic protocols in this field, has little emphasis on the regulation of emotions of parents and children, and also with regard to recent improvements in the field of emotion regulation, it is recommended to consider the components of emotion regulation. Emotion regulation skills help parents and children to identify and control their emotions, especially in stressful or stressful situations. At the same time, these skills can reduce the parental responses and also decrease adaptation and companionship with anxiety symptoms of their children. The contents of the new program included psychological training and training for parents within the framework of a 12 minute sessions of 90 minutes.
Category: Behavior

3

Description: Control group: without any intervention, the list will be expected (in order to comply with the ethical principles of the research, after the completion of the treatment and if the intervention is effective, the control group will receive more effective intervention).
Category: Behavior

Recruitment centers

1

Recruitment center: Name of recruitment center

Education and Training District 1, Sanandaj

Full name of responsible person

Hirosh Rezaei

Street address

No. 155, ground floor, beginning of Palestine Street, Azadi Square, Sanandaj

City

Sanandaj

Province

Kurdistan

Postal code

6616646411

Phone

+98 87 3328 5015

Email

ravabetomomi5800@medu.ir

1

Sponsor: Name of organization / entity

University of Kurdistan

Full name of responsible person

Bahman Bahramnejad

Street address

Vice President for Research and Innovation, Central Building, University of Kurdistan, Pasdaran Street

City

Sanandaj

Province

Kurdistan

Postal code

6617715175

Phone

+98 87 3362 4001

Email

info@uok.ac.ir
Grant name
Grant code / Reference number
Is the source of funding the same sponsor organization/entity?: Yes
Title of funding source: University of Kurdistan
Proportion provided by this source: 100
Public or private sector: Public
Domestic or foreign origin: Domestic
Category of foreign source of funding: empty
Country of origin
Type of organization providing the funding: Academic

Person responsible for general inquiries

Contact: Name of organization / entity

University of Kurdistan

Full name of responsible person

Zohre Valiei

Position

Ph.D. Student

Latest degree

Master

Other areas of specialty/work

Counseling and psychotherapy

Street address

Sanandaj, University of Kurdistan, Professors' Quarter, First Floor, Unit 49

City

Sanandaj

Province

Kurdistan

Postal code

6617713973

Phone

+98 87 3361 8321

Fax

Email

Zohre.valiei@uok.ac.ir

Person responsible for scientific inquiries

Contact: Name of organization / entity

University of Kurdistan

Full name of responsible person

Omid Isanejad

Position

Associate Professor

Latest degree

Ph.D.

Other areas of specialty/work

Counselor, Statistical Analyst and Psychotherapist

Street address

Office of Dr. Omid Isanejad, Faculty Library, Faculty of Humanities, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj

City

Sanandaj

Province

Kurdistan

Postal code

6617715175

Phone

+98 914 919 3686

Email

O.Isanejad@uok.ac.ir

Person responsible for updating data

Contact: Name of organization / entity

University of Kurdistan

Full name of responsible person

Zohre Valiei

Position

Ph.D. Student

Latest degree

Master

Other areas of specialty/work

Counselor and Psychotherapist

Street address

Sanandaj, University of Kurdistan, Professors' Quarter, First Floor, Unit 49

City

Sanandaj

Province

Kurdistan

Postal code

6617713973

Phone

+98 87 3361 8321

Fax

Email

Zohre.valiei@uok.ac.ir

Sharing plan

Deidentified Individual Participant Data Set (IPD): Yes - There is a plan to make this available
Study Protocol: Yes - There is a plan to make this available
Statistical Analysis Plan: Yes - There is a plan to make this available
Informed Consent Form: Yes - There is a plan to make this available
Clinical Study Report: Yes - There is a plan to make this available
Analytic Code: Yes - There is a plan to make this available
Data Dictionary: Yes - There is a plan to make this available
Title and more details about the data/document: All data will be available for sharing after removal of identifying information and complete anonymization of the research participants.
When the data will become available and for how long: After publication of the article derived from the study.
To whom data/document is available: Editors and reviewers of reputable international journals to which manuscripts derived from the study have been submitted for review and publication.
Under which criteria data/document could be used: The data derived from the study will undergo comprehensive statistical analysis prior to submission to reputable international journals. Therefore, individuals authorized to access the data will be granted access solely for the purpose of verifying the accuracy and validity of the data.
From where data/document is obtainable: Principal Investigator: Zohreh Valiei (Email: zohre.valiei@uok.ac.ir; nvaliei7171@gmail.com) Supervisor and Research Advisor: Omid Isanejad (Email: O.Isanejad@uok.ac.ir)
What processes are involved for a request to access data/document: Reviewers and editors of reputable international journals to which manuscripts resulting from the study are submitted may, if necessary, send a request to the specified email addresses to obtain the data. The requested files will be provided to them within two weeks.
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