Research Study Title: Developing and Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Based Intervention on Work-Parenting Pressure

You are hereby invited to participate in this research study for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Psychology, which is aimed at exploring how the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) through psychological flexibility skills could empower working parents of adolescents to adopt psychological flexibility skills and hereby mitigate the adverse impact of work-parenting pressure.

Adolescence is a critical child development phase and is at times accompanied by an increase in conflict, high risk behaviours and a shift in parent-child relationships. Parents may unexpectedly experience worrying thoughts and emotional struggles about their children and their parenting, which might get in the way of optimal childcare and support. It is important to emphasise that this study through the ACT seeks to offer ways to assist working parents to cope with difficult thoughts and emotions and in turn achieve positive parenting outcomes.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy:
The Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence based behavioral framework that used in this study to facilitates the development of psychological flexibility skills and assist parents deal with the emotional and psychological demands that are placed on the parent-child relationship during adolescence.

Study Contribution:
This study seeks to contribute to the limited research area of psychological flexibility skills in mitigating work parenting pressure and is aimed to further provide recommendations to policy makers on working parent support programs that are aimed at enhancing positive parenting.

Study Participation:
The study is limited to 384 parents of adolescents (ages 12–19) who are in formal employment in Windhoek, have internet access and conversant in English. The survey will take approximately 15–20 minutes to complete. The data collection tools for participation comprises:
  • Demographic Questionnaire
  • Pre and Post - Parental Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire (PPFQ)
  • Pre and Post - Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS).
  • Six focus groups.
Participant Benefits:
The participants will attend a 10-week online parent empowerment intervention requiring One (1) hour per week (16h30 – 17h30, starting in 05 March 2025), including six voluntary support calls. The intervention offers lifelong psychological flexibility and mindfulness skills relevant to other personal engagements.

Research Ethics:
This study is governed by the strict ethical protocols and Research Standards of the University of Namibia, participation in this study is entirely voluntary and participants are free to decline participation or withdraw at any point with no negative consequences. Arrangements will be made for participants who might experience psychological discomfort to be debriefed by professional service providers.

Participant Privacy and Confidentiality:
In disseminating the research findings, the researcher will take all measures to ensure that the data is reported in an aggregated manner to prevent individual identification of participants and to maintain confidentiality.

Should you have any questions or need clarity about this study, do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Florentia Amuenje

flexiact23@gmail.com or florentia@transfocoaching.com.na

Supervisor: Prof. P Dhaka - pdhaka@unam.edu.na

You may contact the Centre for Research and Publication at +264 61 206 3061; pclaassen@unam.na if you have any concerns that may not have been adequately addressed by the researcher.
Declaration:

I Declare that I:
  • Have read the Consent form and am comfortable to participate in the study.
  • Was given the opportunity to ask questions and all my questions have been adequately answered.
  • Understand that participation is voluntary, and I have not been pressurized to participate.
  • May choose to leave the study at any time and will not be penalized or prejudiced.
  • May be asked to leave the study if deemed necessary or if I do not comply with agreed study plans

Question Title

* 1. Do you agree to participate in this study

T