Hahs, A. D., Dixon, M. R., & Paliliunas, D. (2019). Randomized controlled trial of a brief acceptance and commitment training for parents of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 12, 154-159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2018.03.002
We examined the effect of a brief Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) based intervention for eighteen parents of children with autism compared to a matched randomized control group. The treatment group demonstrated statistically significant improvements (p < 0.05) and large effect sizes on six of eight self-report measures following treatment, including the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (p = 0.0318, d= 0.94), Beck Depression Inventory-II (p = 0.0239, d= −1.01), Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire-13 (p = 0.0485, d= 0.83), Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (p = 0.007, d= 1.29), Internalized Shame Scale (p = 0.0052, d= −1.37), Personal Values Questionnaire-II (p = 0.0159, d= 1.11), White Bear Suppression Inventory (p = 0.1732, d= 0.46), and Frieburg Mindfulness Inventory (p = 0.2506, d= 0.32). These results suggest that a brief ACT-based intervention may be efficacious in treating the psychological challenges of parents of children with autism.
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