Effects of Mindful Parenting Program on the Executive Function and Resting State Brain Functional Connectivity for Parents of Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objectives This study aimed to investigate the effects of the Mindful Parenting Program (MPP) on the executive function and brain function of parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Method One hundred thirteen parents of children with ADHD were randomly assigned to the 8-week MPP or the Treatment as Usual waitlist control group (TAU). The stroop test, spatial working memory test, and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version (BRIEF-A) were administered at baseline and postintervention. In addition, the time-by-group interaction of the participants was measured with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The effects of the MPP on the executive function and functional connectivity (FC) of the brain were evaluated with repeated measures analysis of variance. Results For executive function, there was a significant time-by-group interaction effect on BRIEF-Initiation ( F =4.42, p =0.038, Cohen’s d =0.19) and BRIEF-Shift scores ( F =4.01, p =0.048, Cohen’s d =0.23). Only 16 participants in the MPP group and 15 in the TAU waitlist control were included for fNIRS analysis. Compared with those in the TAU waitlist control group, the MPP group had increased FC in the right default mode network (DMN-R), and left frontoparietal network (FPN-L), DMN-R-left ventral attention network (VAN-L), DMN-R-left visual network (VN-L), VAN-L-right ventral attention network (VAN-R), VAN-L, and left visual network (VN-L). In contrast to the MPP group, the TAU waitlist control group had decreased FC in the left sensorimotor network (SMN-L)-VN-L. The improvements in BRIEF-Shift scores were correlated with VN(L)-SMN(L). However, no results were significant after false discovery rate correction, a statistical method to control for multiple comparisons. Conclusions The MPP appears to have beneficial effects on the executive function and brain function of parents of children with ADHD. However, these findings need to be confirmed in further studies. Preregistration https://www.chictr.org.cn ; ChiCTR1800019215 (registered in 2018/08/31)