Comparison of Self-Compassion, Humor, and Alexithymia among Mothers of Autism Children with Normal in Ahvaz City

The purpose of the present study was to compare self-compassion, humor, and alexithymia between mothers of children with atherosclerosis and mothers of normal children in Ahvaz city.

A causal-comparative study was conducted on the statistical population of all mothers of healthy children and all mothers with children with autism referring to the centers for the organization, treatment, and rehabilitation of stomach nerves in Ahvaz city during 2016-2017. The research sample was selected through convenience sampling method. Two groups of mothers with autistic children (n= 60) and normal mothers (n= 60) were selected. The instruments used were a Self-Compassion Inventory (SCS), Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ), and Toronto Emotional Scale (TAS-20). ANOVA was used to test the hypotheses and the significance level was set at p≤0.05.

The results showed that there is a significant difference between self-compassion and emotional negligence of mothers with autistic children and those with healthy children, but there was no difference between the two groups regarding humor.

The findings can be important for psychological interventions for mothers of autistic children.