Culturally adapted DBT parent coaching for Chinese families of adolescents with mental disorders: a mixed-methods feasibility study.

Résumé

BACKGROUND: Parents of adolescents with mental disorders frequently experience elevated levels of psychological distress, often in settings where structured support for caregivers is limited. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) offers a skills-based framework that may strengthen caregivers' emotion regulation and improve family functioning, yet culturally adapted parent-focused programmes remain underexamined in China. This study evaluated the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a culturally adapted DBT parent coaching programme for Chinese parents of adolescents with mental disorders.METHODS: A mixed-methods, single-arm feasibility design was used, in which 42 parents of adolescents with mental disorders participated in a 10-week culturally adapted DBT parent coaching programme consisting of weekly online group sessions and offline homework practice. Quantitative data were collected at baseline (T1), post-intervention (T2), and three-month follow-up (T3) using validated measures of depression, anxiety, stress (DASS-21), emotion regulation (ERQ), and family functioning (SCORE-15). Paired t-tests and linear mixed-effects models were conducted to examine immediate and longitudinal changes. Qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with a purposive subsample and analysed using thematic analysis to explore participants' experiences and perceived changes.RESULTS: Significant reductions were observed in parents' depression, anxiety, and stress at post-intervention, alongside improvements in overall family functioning and the strengths and difficulties dimensions of the SCORE-15 (P