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Parent, Child, and Family Outcomes Following Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Parents of Autistic Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- Source :
-
Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice . 2024 28(2):367-380. - Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- Emerging research shows that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) may improve mental health for caregivers. Parents of autistic children, adolescents, and adults (N = 54) were randomly assigned to either complete a brief group-based ACT intervention or remain on the waitlist. Participants completed surveys immediately prior to randomization, and 3-, 7-, and 17-weeks post-randomization. The primary outcome was depression symptoms and secondary outcomes included stress, goal attainment, positive affect, ACT psychological processes, child mental health, and family functioning. Mixed effects linear models testing Group × Time interaction indicated the Treatment group (n = 27) demonstrated greater post-intervention improvements than the Waitlist group (n = 27) in parent depression (p = 0.03, d = -0.64) and family distress (p = 0.04, d = -0.57). Treatment group parents also reported greater short-term gains in positive affect (p =< 0.001, d = 0.77) and personal goal attainment (p = 0.007, d = 0.80), compared to the Waitlist group. Although there was no significant Group × Time interaction for other outcomes, stress (b = -2.58, p = 0.01), defusion (b = -3.78, p = 0.001), and experiential avoidance (b = -4.22, p = 0.01) showed improvement for the Treatment group, but not the Waitlist group, at post-intervention. All Treatment group improvements were maintained at follow-up. Results suggest that a brief ACT group intervention is efficacious for improving some aspects of mental health for parents of autistic children.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1362-3613 and 1461-7005
- Volume :
- 28
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- ERIC
- Journal :
- Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- EJ1411377
- Document Type :
- Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613231172241