The Effectiveness of Positive Psychotherapy on Depression and Psychological Capital of Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to examine how positive psychotherapy impacts the levels of depression and Psychological capital in mothers who have children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Methods and Materials: This research methodology was quasi-experimental, utilizing a pre-test and post-test design along with a control group. The target population for this study consisted of all mothers with autistic children seeking treatment at autism centers from April to June 2018-19 in Karaj, Iran. The multi-stage cluster sampling method was employed and based on sampling purposes, wherein 30 mothers were randomly chosen from a pool of 80 referrals. Subsequently, these mothers were allocated to both the experimental and control groups (n=15 for each group). Participants in the experimental group attended eight 90-minute Positive interventions sessions twice a week for a month. Data were collected using two reliable and valid questionnaires: The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and The Psychological Capital Questionnaires (PCQ). After the intervention, a post-test was administered to both groups. Descriptive statistics and multivariate covariance analysis were used for data analysis with SPSS-22 software. Findings: The results of the pre-test and post-test for both groups indicated a significant impact of positive psychotherapy on reducing depression and increasing psychological capital among mothers in the experimental group. Conclusion: The increase in Psychological capital and reduction in depression was attributed to individuals' positive mindset, flexibility, realistic approach to life, and ability to recognize and mitigate unproductive thoughts.