Abstract
Children’s behavioral problems influence their families considerably. Thus, the present study evaluates the effectiveness of the spillover intervention on the emotional processing and self-concealment of the mothers of children with externalized behavioral problems in Isfahan. The study is quasi-experimental with pretest, posttest, and follow-up phases. Thirty mothers of children with externalized behavioral problems were selected by purposeful and convenience sampling and assigned into two experimental and control groups. The experimental group underwent the spillover intervention in 8 90-minute sessions, and the control group received no treatment. The research instruments included Achenbach’s (2001) Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Form (for screening the sample group), Larsen and Chastain’s (1990) Self-Concealment Scale (SCS), and Baker’s (2010) Emotional Information Processing Questionnaire. The data were analyzed by univariate and multivariate ANCOVA tests run in the SPSS 26 software. The results revealed that spillover training positively and significantly impacted self-concealment (F = 12/902; P = 0/001) and emotional processing (F = 33/017; P = 0/001) at the significance level of 0/05 (α = 0/05). Besides, the results were constant in the follow-up phase (α = 0/05). According to the findings, spillover training has a significant effect on the self-concealment and emotional processing of mothers of children with externalized behavioral problems. Considering mothers are the main pillars in training their children, this outcome has some educational and psychological implications for the mothers of children with externalized behavioral problems.
Keywords: Spillover, Self-Concealment, Emotional Processing, Externalized Behavioral Problems.
 
 
 
Extended Abstract

Introduction

Behavioral problems arise in situations where emotional and behavioral responses differ from cultural, age, and ethnic norms in school, negatively impacting academic performance, self-care, social relationships, personal adaptation, and adaptation in the workplace (Ghamarani and Lotfi, 2018). One type of behavioral problem is externalizing problems, which include behaviors that are externally observable and directed outside the child's existence, and are somewhat referred to as disruptive behavior (defiance, hyperactivity, inattention, and aggression) (Achenbach and Rescorla, 2001). The spillover theory, based on the family systems perspective, assumes that all family members are interdependent, and as a result, their experiences, emotions, values, and behaviors influence the interactions of other family members in a domain (Jensen et al., 2021). One of the influential factors in the type of response of parents with problematic children is emotions, which their involvement is evident in a wide range of psychological disorders such as anxiety disorders and depression (Altiere & von Kluge, 2009). Emotional processing using emotional processing strategies can be effective in increasing emotional skills to reduce emotional and psychological disturbances (Mohammadi Siyah Kamari et al., 2017). It seems that mothers with children with behavioral problems are weak in emotional processing and achieve lower grades. Anger, aggression, bullying, violence, and illegal and rule-breaking behaviors are manifestations of externalizing behavioral problems and are considered unacceptable by society, so mothers of this group of children are forced to use self-concealment mechanisms. According to the studies conducted, the family spillover approach has the potential to be taught to mothers with children with behavioral problems. Therefore, the issue of the present research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the spillover intervention on emotional processing and self-concealment of mothers with children with externalizing behavioral problems.
Research Questions

Is the spillover intervention effective in the emotional processing of mothers with children with externalizing behavioral problems?
Is the spillover intervention effective in the self-concealment of mothers with children with externalizing behavioral problems?
Literature Review

Based on previous studies, the negative spillover of marital conflicts is associated with strictness, incompatibility, relationship tension, and unhealthy parenting (Wormuth, Cummings, & Davies, 2020). Therefore, in studies related to family spillover, mothers have been the focus of researchers; self-efficacy and parenting style (Rahimi, Akrami, & Ghamarani, 2021), self-determination and parental management (Mansournia, Malekpour, & Ghamarani, 2021) are examples of these studies.

Methodology

This research was conducted as a semi-experimental study, including pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. The statistical population in this study included all mothers with children with external behavioral problems studying in regular schools in Isfahan during the academic year 2021-2020. The diagnostic criterion for children's behavioral problems was the Achenbach Behavior Problems Questionnaire. Convenience and purposive sampling methods were used to select the sample from schools in District 3 of Isfahan. After identifying students with external behavioral problems, their mothers were invited to participate in the research, and 30 of them who met the inclusion criteria were selected as the sample. In the pre-test phase, dependent variables were evaluated. Then, the spillover intervention was implemented in the experimental group in 8 sessions of 90 minutes (two sessions per week) (Torkashvand & Ghamarani, in press). Then, in the post-test and follow-up phase, one month after the end of the intervention, both the experimental and control groups were evaluated in terms of dependent variables. In the next phase, the difference between the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up scores of the experimental and control groups was statistically tested to determine the effect of the independent variable.
 
 

Results

Table 1. Descriptive statistics of self-concealment and emotional processing in two groups




Variables


 


 


Experimental


Control




Test


N


M ± SD


M ± SD






self-concealment


Pre‑test


15


30.33±9.48


31.86±7.60




Post‑test


15


19.66±5.12


31.06±6.69




Follow-up


15


19.06±3.39


32.86±5.30




emotional suppression


Pre‑test


15


15.86±3.20


15.73±3.23




Post‑test


15


13.40±2.66


16.80±2.88




Follow-up


15


13.77±2.44


14.40±2.44




emotional processing signs


Pre‑test


15


13±3.20


11±1.64




Post‑test


15


18.20±2.54


12.66±2.28




Follow-up


15


15.40±3.26


12.93±1.62




emotional avoidance


Pre‑test


15


13.26±2.60


11.86±2.32




Post‑test


15


8.73±1.22


11.33±1.83




Follow-up


15


8.93±1.38


12.06±2.01




emotional control


Pre‑test


15


12.26±2.96


11.46±2.13




Post‑test


15


17.86±3.13


12.27±1.75




Follow-up


15


17.66±2.22


12.60±1.76




Unpleasant emotional experiences


Pre‑test


15


13.33±2.16


12.60±2.22




Post‑test


15


7.26±2.88


12.66±2.58




Follow-up


15


30.06±4.87


7.93±2.05




emotional processing


Pre‑test


15


64.93±11.42


58.40±6.85




Post‑test


15


91.40±11.06


61.40±4.54




Follow-up


15


85.06±10.27


62.53±5.34




Table 2.Results of one-way analysis of variance on the mean scores of post-test and follow-up on maternal self-concealment with pre-test control




stage


Sum of square


df


Mean square


F


Sig.


Effect Size


Test power






Post‑test


Pre‑test


17569.729


1


17569.729


371.888


0.001


0.810


1.00




Group


3546.944


1


3546.944


75.076


0.001


0.463


1.00




error


4110/289


57


47.245


 


 


 


 




Total


85803.000


60


 


 


 


 


 




Follow- up


Pre‑test


210.062


1


210.062


100.900


0.001


0.639


1.00




Group


881.771


1


881.771


70.173


0.001


0.722


1.00




error


331.279


57


12.566


 


 


 


 




Total


22140.000


60


 


 


 


 


 




Table 3.  Covariance analysis of post-test and follow-up mean scores of self-concealment and emotional processing




Stage


Variables


Sum of square


df


Mean square


F


Sig.


Effect Size


Test power






Post‑test


emotional suppression


240.000


1


240.000


31.863


0.001


0.397


1.00




emotional processing signs


212.817


1


212.817


35.004


0.001


0.277


1.00




emotional avoidance


46.944


1


46.944


8.881


0.004


0.093


0.838




emotional control


328.711


1


328.711


45.166


0.001


0.342


1.00




Unpleasant emotional experiences


81.667


1


81.667


12.214


0.001


0.264


1.00




emotional processing


4507.331


1


4507.331


33.017


0.001


0.550


1.00




Follow- up


emotional suppression


81.667


1


81.667


13.083


0.001


0.187


0.945




emotional processing signs


70.417


1


70.417


10.867


0.002


0.160


0.900




emotional avoidance


64.067


1


64.067


11.013


0.002


0.162


0.904




emotional control


160.067


1


160.067


24.802


0.001


0.303


0.998




Unpleasant emotional experiences


106.667


1


70.417


15.228


0.001


0.211


0.970




emotional processing


2593.338


1


2593.338


48.967


0.001


0.645


1.00





Discussion and Conclusion (Times New Roman 12 bold)

The first finding of the research showed a significant difference in emotional processing between the experimental and control groups. In the intervention sessions, mothers were asked to describe their interactions with their children. Most mothers had difficulty in processing emotions in their interactions with their children, especially in dealing with negative emotions caused by their children's inappropriate behavior. Enrichment of family communication (spousal and parent-child relationships) and positive spillover caused mothers to process emotions more positively. Another finding of the research showed a significant decrease in self-concealment scores in the experimental group. In the intervention sessions, mothers were reminded of the role of empathy in family spillover to promote empathic spillover in the family. Since spouses spend a lot of time together, using empathic spillover techniques helps them become more aware of each other's emotional states, leading to more discussion about their problems and encouraging emotional expression, which ultimately reduces self-concealment. One of the research suggestions is to compare the effectiveness of other psychological interventions such as cognitive-behavioral interventions, mindfulness-based interventions, and compassion-based interventions with family spillover intervention to more accurately evaluate the direct effects of this new intervention.