The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Based Therapy on The Experiential Avoidance of Mothers with Autistic Children

Subject Areas : Psychology

Leila Gholamipour ¹ ( Islamic Azad University Boushehr Branch, Department of General Psychology, Boushehr, Iran. )
Naser Amini ² ( Islamic Azad University Boushehr Branch, Department of General Psychology, Boushehr, Iran. )
Abdollah Shafiabady ³ ( Allameh Tabtabai University in Tehran, Departeman of Counseling, Tehran, Iran. )
Moloud Keykhosrovani ⁴ ( Islamic Azad University Boushehr Branch, Department of General Psychology, Boushehr, Iran. )

Received: 2020-09-08 Accepted : 2020-10-23 Published : 2020-12-21

Keywords: mothers with autistic children, experiential avoidance, commitment and acceptance based therapy,

Abstract :

The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment based therapy on the avoidance of post-anxiety experience in mothers with autistic children in Ahvaz. The statistical population of this study was all mothers with autistic children in Ahvaz. 30 mothers with autistic children were selected by purposive sampling method. After selecting the sample, individuals were randomly divided into two groups of experimental and control, 15 mothers in each group. The method of the research was quasi-experimental with pre-test-post-test-follow-up design with control group. The experimental group was exposed to acceptance and commitment based therapy for 8 sessions, 90 minutes each and one session per week. the control group received none. The follow up was conducted two months later. To measure the research variables, the Acceptance and Practice – Questionnaire, Bund et al second version (2011) was implemented. The data were analyzed using univariate analysis of covariance. The results indicated that there were significant differences in experiential avoidance scores of the experimental and the control groups that means the acceptance and commitment based therapy was effective in reducing experiential avoidance of mothers with autistic children.

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