The Effect of Mindfulness-Based Self-Compassion Education Given to Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Summary

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an important public health problem in our country as well as all over the world. The physical, psychological, social and economic problems and mood disorders experienced by the parents of these children can negatively affect not only themselves, but also the effectiveness of the intervention and treatment programs applied to the children. Therefore, many mindfulness-based intervention programs aim to improve stress reduction, resilience and well-being in parents.

In this study, it is aimed to evaluate the effect of mindfulness-based self-compassion training given to parents of children with ASD on stress, resilience and well-being. The research will be carried out with the parents of children aged 7-12 years who applied to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic of Atatürk University Health Research and Application Center located in Erzurum city center between December 2022 and October 2024 and diagnosed with ASD. The sample of the study was determined by G-power analysis. With the power analysis, it was calculated that at least 68 parents should be included in the sample, in the calculation made at the level of α=0.05, the effect size of 150, 153 (d=0.8) and the power of the study to be 90%. Therefore, the sample size of this study is planned to be 68.

In the collection of research data, an introductory information form containing the socio-demographic data of the child with ASD and the parent, prepared by the researcher in line with the literature, Parental Stress Scale (SIDS), Psychological Resilience Scale for Adults, Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, Self-Compassion Scale Short Form (SSS-F), Conscious Awareness Scale (CIFI) will be used.

Conditions

• Autism Spectrum Disorder

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Session 8

* "Revisiting the good" application to enable parents to experience the five senses in a pleasant way, * Practices of "self-forgiveness", "asking for forgiveness", "forgiving others", "gratitude", which can be a way of mending the cracks in parents' relationships with themselves and others, * Expanding the practice into "kindness meditation: groups and all beings",

BEHAVIORAL

Session 9

* The practice of allowing parents to choose a day in their lives for a few minutes to pause mindfully, * "A breather for wise and compassionate action" practice, * "Calmness meditation" application, * "Sharing the joy meditation" application,

BEHAVIORAL

Session 10

* Evaluating the entire education by telling parents about the practices they can use where help is needed to develop compassion towards self-healing skills, * "River of Life" application, which evaluates awareness in depth, * Saying goodbye.

BEHAVIORAL

Session 1

* Ensuring group interaction, allowing parents to meet each other, * Providing information in line with the "Awareness-Based Self-Compassion Training Booklet for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder" prepared as training material,

BEHAVIORAL

Session 2

* Making explanations about the contents of the training sessions to be held with parents, * Teaching proper breathing techniques, * Visual demonstration and application of relaxation techniques

BEHAVIORAL

Session 3

* "Breathing break with kindness" application, * Thinking and evaluating how threat, impulse and soothing systems develop in individuals' own lives, * "Safe place" application, * Applying "kindness meditation",

BEHAVIORAL

Session 4

* "Breathing break with kindness" application, * The practice of "establishing a compassionate relationship with resistance", * "Kindness meditation: a do-gooder" application, * "A hand on the heart" application, * "A compassionate companion" application,

BEHAVIORAL

Session 5

* "Breathing break with kindness" application, * The practice of "establishing a compassionate relationship with desire", * "Guided meditation to discover the inner pattern" practice, * "Kindness meditation: a good friend" application,

BEHAVIORAL

Session 6

* "Pretending" practice regarding parents' awareness, * An expanded version of the practices carried out in previous sessions to raise awareness, the "internalizing compassion" practice, * "Kindness meditation: a neutral person", "kindness towards your body" and "walking with kindness" practices, which are based on mindfulness practices and increase body awareness and mindful movement,

BEHAVIORAL

Session 7

* A "compassionate letter" application, which is carried out by asking parents to think about a situation they have encountered recently or some time ago that still causes distress, * "Kindness meditation: the 'difficult' person", "compassion and breathing: yourself" and "compassionate breathing: others" practices, * Researching how parents can cope with difficulties and implementing a "compassionate breath break" without words,

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ataturk University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• DİLEK KILIÇ · Atatürk University, Faculty of Nursing

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

25 Years

Max Age

60 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-02-01

Primary Completion

2023-02-28

Completion

2024-03-05

Countries

• Turkey (Türkiye)

Study Locations