The Effectiveness of the Unified Transdiagnostic Treatment Protocol on the Social Skills of Students with Anxiety Disorders and the Self-Efficacy of their Mothers

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment on the social skills of students with anxiety disorders and the self-efficacy of their mothers. This study was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design and a control group with one-month and three-month follow-up, which was practical in purpose. The statistical population included all female students aged 8 to 10 years in the academic year 2020-2021 in Tehran and their mothers. Using the available sampling method, 30 anxious schoolgirls were identified and randomly divided into two groups (15 in the control group and 15 in the experimental group). The instrument used in this study was Gresham and Elliott’s Social Skills Questionnaire (SSRS), Spence Children’s Anxiety Questionnaire (SCAS), Teacher Report Form (TRF), and Dumka Patents Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSAM), which were completed by the students and mothers before and after the intervention, and after the follow-ups. Then, the experimental group participated in the intervention for 15 sessions of 60 minutes each. Finally, data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 24) and ANOVA with repeated measures. The results showed that the unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment had a significant effect on improving social skills, reducing children's behavior problems, and increasing mothers’ self-efficacy. It appears that the unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment can be used as a means to improve students’ social skills and their mothers’ self-efficacy.