Increasing the Parenting Sense of Competence in Mothers of Bullying School-aged Boys through Behavioral Parent Training (BPT): A Quasi-Experimental Study

Background: Behavioral issues, including bullying, often arise during early childhood. Mothers play a critical role in shaping their children’s psychological and social development. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of behavioral parent training (BPT) on improving the parenting sense of competence among mothers of school-aged boys who engage in bullying.Methods: This quantitative, quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design with a control group and a three-month follow-up. The study population included mothers of bullying boys aged 10–12 who attended Razi Psychological Services Clinic, affiliated with the Department of Education in Karaj, Alborz Province, Iran in 2024. The study participants were selected through convenience sampling technique. A total of 30 mothers were randomly allocated to intervention and control groups using the permuted block method. The intervention group participated in an eight-week BPT program, with one-hour sessions held weekly, whereas the control group did not receive any intervention during the study period. Data were collected using the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSCS) and analyzed with repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc tests in SPSS version 26.Results: The analysis revealed significant differences in parenting competence between the intervention and control groups at both the post-test and follow-up stages, favoring the intervention group. Specifically, mothers in the intervention group showed improved parenting competence scores (pre-test: 2.40±2.58; post-test: 3±2.96) compared with the control group (pre-test: 2.80±1.14; post-test: 2.66±1.44). Additionally, significant differences were observed across the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up phases (P=0.02).Conclusions: The findings suggested that BPT effectively enhances mothers’ sense of parenting competence, fostering positive changes in parenting behaviors and approaches.