Effectiveness of MBT-C Among Foster Children

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.

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Key information

Conditions

Foster Care Behavior Emotional Regulation Self-Control Social Behavior

Age range

7 year–12 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Isfahan Welfare Organization

Isfahan, Iran

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

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

Exclusion criteria

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

Treatment and study plan

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.

Primary outcomes

Emotional awareness

Time frame: 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.

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.
Emotion regulation

Time frame: 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 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.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Ardakan University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Effectiveness of Mentalization-Based Treatment on Emotion Regulation and Emotional Awareness Among Children in Foster Care

Important dates

Study start: 2024
Primary completion: 2024
Study completion: 2024
First posted: Jun 29, 2026
Registry last updated: Jun 29, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed