The Effectiveness of Behavior Management Training on Parental Stress of Autistic Children's Mothers

the aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of parent behavior management training program in decreasing parental stress of mothers with autistic children. Based on semi experimental design, 30 mothers with autistic children were selected and divided into two (experimental and control) groups. Groups were matched by children’s age and gender, and mother’s age and education. Participants completed Parental Stress Index (PSI; Abidin, 1990) in
pretest, posttest and follow up phases. For six weeks, the experimental group received parental training (2 hours a week). The control group received no training.
Repeated measure analysis indicated that parental training program reduced parental stress and enhanced coping to parental stress of autistic children. Clinical implications for the prevention and treatment of parental stress among mothers with autistic children were discussed.