The Effectiveness of Transdiagnostic Treatment on Anhedonia and Gelotophobia in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Aim and Raising a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) results in many psychological problems for family members, especially mothers. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of transdiagnostic treatment method on anhedonia and gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) in mothers of children with ASD.
Methods and Materials: The statistical population included all mothers of children with ASD in the city of Isfahan, Iran. Sampling was conducted through convenience sampling from among mothers who had obtained the highest scores in anhedonia and gelotophobia (a SD of higher than the mean scores of the group). As a result, 40 individuals were selected, and then, divided randomly into control and experimental groups. The Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHPS) and the Fear of Being Laughed at Scale were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using MANCOVA in SPSS software.
Findings: The results indicated that transdiagnostic treatment is effective on the components of anhedonia including social interaction, sensory experience, eating and drinking, interest/pastimes, and gelotophobia (P ≤ 0.05).
The findings of the present study indicated that transdiagnostic treatment can be an effective educational program for reducing anhedonia and gelotophobia in mothers of individuals with ASD.