Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Assistant Professor of Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
2 Ph.D. Student of Psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
Abstract
Autism disorder, affected individuals, involves family members, especially mothers, in the problems caused by this disorder. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of communication skills training on social adjustment and quality of life of mothers with autistic children. The research method was an experimental pre-test-post-test with a control group. The statistical population of the study included all mothers with autistic children in Ardabil city in 2024, from which 30 people were selected according to the study entry criteria and through purposive sampling and were randomly assigned to the experimental group (15 people) and the control group (15 people). The experimental group received 8 sessions of 75 minutes of the communication skills training program of McKay et al (2009) and the control group continued their normal routine. Bell's (1961) Social Adjustment Questionnaire and Skevington et al (2004) Quality of Life Questionnaire were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance. The findings showed that there was a significant difference between the mean social adjustment (P<0.001, F=57.40, ηp2=0.688) and quality of life (P<0.001, F=89.58, ηp2=0.775) of mothers in the experimental and control groups in the post-test. Thus, after implementing the communication skills training program, the mean scores social adjustment and quality of life of mothers in the experimental group increased significantly compared to the control group. Therefore, mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder can improve their adjustment with the help of communication skills and their quality of life will increase.
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