Clinical Psychology and Personality

Clinical Psychology and Personality

The Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation on Mental Health and Marital Satisfaction in Mothers' Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Yasouj, Yasouj, Iran
2 MSc student, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Yasouj, Yasouj, Iran
Abstract
Introduction: The present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of emotion regulation training on the mental health and marital satisfaction of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder in 2024.
Method: This quasi-experimental study employed a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The sample comprised 30 mothers of children with autism who attended counseling centers in Shiraz. Participants were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to two groups: an experimental group (n = 15) and a control group (n = 15). During the pre-test phase, all participants completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) developed by Goldberg (1972) and the ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire (2000). The experimental group then underwent an emotion regulation training program consisting of ten weekly sessions, while the control group remained on a waitlist. Following the intervention, both groups completed the same questionnaires as a post-test. The study’s findings were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA).
Results: The multivariate analysis of covariance revealed that the training sessions significantly affected the mental health and marital satisfaction of mothers of children with autism (p < 0.01). Additionally, the findings indicated that mothers in the control group had significantly lower mental health and marital satisfaction scores compared to those in the experimental group (p < 0.01).
Discussion and conclusion: Given the effectiveness of this training program in enhancing mental well-being and marital satisfaction among mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), it can be effectively utilized as a psychological intervention.
Keywords

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