Skip to main content

Greco, Blomquist, Acra, & Moulton, 2006

APA Citation

Greco, L. A., Blomquist, K. K., Acra, S., & Moulton, D. (2006). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Adolescents with Functional Abdominal Pain: Results of a Pilot Investigation. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Publication Topic
ACT: Empirical
Publication Type
Article
Language
English
Keyword(s)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Functional abdominal pain, Adolescents
Abstract

Objective: This study examined the potential utility of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in promoting life quality and decreasing school absence and functional disability among adolescents with functional abdominal pain. Method: Fifteen adolescents and their parents were recruited from a pediatric gastroenterology clinic to participate in the ACT for Teens program. Adolescents attended 12-14 individual sessions, and parents participated in 2-5 parenting sessions. Measures of adolescent functioning were completed at baseline, post-treatment, and one-month follow up. Results: Adolescents demonstrated significant increases in life quality and significant decreases in functional disability and school absences from baseline to post-treatment and follow up. In addition, adolescents reported lower levels of somatic complaints and anxiety from baseline to post-treatment and lower levels of somatic complaints, anxiety, and depression from baseline to one-month follow up. Conclusion: Preliminary findings suggest that ACT may be a useful approach for adolescents struggling with physical and emotional pain. Future studies with larger, more diverse samples and appropriate control groups are needed to document the effectiveness and efficacy of ACT in this patient population.