International Journal of Educational and Psychological Researches

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year
: 2015  |  Volume : 1  |  Issue : 3  |  Page : 221--225

Acceptance and commitment therapy on parents of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders


Shuvabrata Poddar1, VK Sinha2, Mukherjee Urbi3 
1 Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Kanke, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
2 Department of Psychiatry, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Kanke, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
3 Department of Applied Psychology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Correspondence Address:
Shuvabrata Poddar
Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Kanke, Ranchi, Jharkhand
India

Aim: Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are neurodevelopmental disorders that hinder the normal developmental process and pose enormous challenges to the parents in terms of their role expectations and adjustment with the irreversible conditions of their child. However, little attention has been paid to their psychological needs and wellbeing. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) focuses on accepting things that are beyond control and commit to changing those things, which are possible to change, by increasing the psychological flexibility of the person, thereby aiding to better realistic adjustments. The present study aims at studying the effectiveness of ACT on parents of children and adolescents with ASDs. Materials and Methods: It followed a repeated measures design, comprising five parents having children and adolescents with ASDs receiving treatment from inpatient and outpatient services of Child Guidance Clinic, Central Institute of Psychiatry, to test the effect of 10 session protocol spanned over 2-month. Assessment measures were done along state anxiety, depression, psychological flexibility and quality of life using State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-BREF respectively. Baseline measures were taken prior to the treatment and follow-up measures were taken after nine treatment sessions. Results: Pre- to post-treatment improvements were found on state anxiety, depression, psychological flexibility and quality of life. Conclusion: Findings implied that ACT may have promise in helping parents better to adjust to the difficulties in rearing children diagnosed with ASDs.


How to cite this article:
Poddar S, Sinha V K, Urbi M. Acceptance and commitment therapy on parents of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders.Int J Educ Psychol Res 2015;1:221-225


How to cite this URL:
Poddar S, Sinha V K, Urbi M. Acceptance and commitment therapy on parents of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Int J Educ Psychol Res [serial online] 2015 [cited 2024 Mar 29 ];1:221-225
Available from: https://www.ijeprjournal.org/article.asp?issn=2395-2296;year=2015;volume=1;issue=3;spage=221;epage=225;aulast=Poddar;type=0