Saeed RezaYi
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the acceptance and commitment therapy for reducing depression, anxiety and stress in parents with autism spectrum children. This research was an experimental study with a pre-test, post-test and control group. The statistical population included ...
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The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the acceptance and commitment therapy for reducing depression, anxiety and stress in parents with autism spectrum children. This research was an experimental study with a pre-test, post-test and control group. The statistical population included all mothers with autistic children who referred to the Tehran April 2 Autism center in 2017-2018. Eighteen mothers with autistic children were selected as the sample and randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21(DASS-21) was used for collecting the data. The data were analyzed through MANCOVA and by following statistical assumptions required for data analysis. The therapeutic program was run in 12 successive sessions for two months, with each session lasting for two hours. The results showed that in the post-test, the scores of depression, anxiety, and stress reduced significantly for mothers in the experimental group compared to their counterparts in the control group. Based on the effectiveness of the Acceptance and commitment therapy for the experimental group (i.e., mothers with Autistic Children in the experimental group, p < 0.001), this method can be used as a psychological treatment intervention along with other intervention methods.