Effectiveness of MBT-C Among Foster Children

NCT07674017 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: IR.ARDAKAN.REC.1403.023
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study examined whether Mentalization-Based Treatment for Children (MBT-C) could improve emotion regulation and emotional awareness among children in foster care. Thirty children aged 7-12 years were randomly assigned to either an MBT-C intervention group or a control group. The intervention group participated in 12 treatment sessions, while the control group received no intervention. Results showed that children who received MBT-C demonstrated improvements in adaptive emotion regulation and emotional awareness, and these improvements were maintained two months later. The findings suggest that MBT-C may be a useful intervention for supporting the emotional development of children in foster care.

Conditions

Foster Care

Keywords

Foster children; Emotion regulation; Emotional awareness; Mentalization

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Emotional awareness

  Emotional awareness is defined as the conscious ability to recognize, differentiate, and verbalize one's own emotions, while also identifying and interpreting the emotions of others, thereby supporting adaptive coping and psychological wellbeing. It was measured using the Emotion Awareness Questionnaire (EAQ). It is a 30-item self-report measure of emotional awareness comprising six subscales: Differentiating Emotions, Verbal Sharing of Emotions, Bodily Awareness of Emotions, Acting Out Emotions, Analysis of Emotions, and Awareness of Others' Emotions. Subscale scores may be examined separately, and a total score can be calculated to reflect overall emotional awareness. Total scores range from 30 to 90, with higher scores indicating greater emotional awareness.

  Baseline: One day before the first intervention session. Post-test: One day after the final intervention session. Follow-up: Two months after the final intervention session.

• Emotion regulation

  Emotion regulation refers to the internal and external processes through which individuals monitor, evaluate, and modify emotional experiences to achieve adaptive functioning. It was measured using The Emotional Regulation Checklist (ERC). This 24-item checklist is a caregiver-report measure designed to assess children's emotional expressiveness and regulation. Respondents rate each item on a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (rarely/never) to 4 (almost always). The ERC comprises two distinct subscales: Emotion Regulation (8 items; score range = 8-32) and Lability/Negativity (15 items; score range = 15-60). Scores for each subscale can be interpreted independently, with higher scores on the Emotion Regulation subscale indicating stronger regulatory capacities and higher scores on the Lability/Negativity subscale reflecting greater emotional dysregulation.

  Baseline: One day before the first intervention session. Post-test: One day after the final intervention session. Follow-up: Two months after the final intervention session.

Study Arms (2)

MBT-C

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: Mentalization-based treatment for children

Control group

NO INTERVENTION

Interventions

Mentalization-based treatment for children BEHAVIORAL

MBT-C is a transdiagnostic, time-limited, and manualized psychotherapy for children, delivered with parallel parent sessions. The model emphasizes a predetermined number of sessions, a treatment calendar, and a focused case formulation. A clear therapeutic contract is established at the beginning with both parents and children, fostering collaboration, agency, and transparency which is a significant aspect of the mentalizing stance. While MBTC is designed to address multiple domains, including explicit mentalization, attention control, and relational capacities, these domains were considered supportive targets in the present study, as they contribute to strengthening children's emotion regulation.

MBT-C

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 7 Years - 12 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• having emotional and behavioral difficulties, diagnosed using the cutoff score of 14 or higher on the carer-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), including scores of 5 or higher on the Emotional Symptoms subscale and 3 or higher on the Conduct Problems subscale.
• Aged 7 to 12 years.
• Living with foster parents for at least 4 weeks

You may not qualify if:

• Presence of an intellectual disability.
• A diagnosed psychiatric disorder documented in the records of the Child Welfare Organization.
• Participating in other psychotherapeutic interventions.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ardakan University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Isfahan Welfare Organization

Isfahan, Iran

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Emotional Regulation

Interventions

Mentalization-Based Therapy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Self-Control; Social Behavior; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: M.A. in psychology

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 20, 2026
• First Posted: June 29, 2026
• Study Start: April 2, 2024
• Primary Completion: October 22, 2024
• Study Completion: October 22, 2024
• Last Updated: June 29, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

IR (1)