Psychoeducation with the Small Group Discussion Approach Increases Knowledge of Parents in Caring for Children with Autism and Aggressive Behavior

Abstract

Introduction: Aggressive behavior in autistic children impacts the difficulties in taking care of the children related to parents’ literacy limitations. Previous evidence showed that psychoeducation improved the ability of parents to care for autistic children. However, there is a limiting use in the small group discussion (SDG) approach. This paper investigates the impact of psychoeducation with a small group discussion (SGD) approach on parents’ knowledge in caring for children with Autism and Aggressive Behavior. M ethods: This study was a pre-experimental design one-group pretest-posttest design. Data derived from the total sampling technique resulted in 65 people using the questionnaire results. Then, it was analyzed using the Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test with a significance level (α) = 0.05. Results: The Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test result showed p= 0.0001. Conclusion: There was a significant difference between pre and post-test. In conclusion, psychoeducation with the small group discussion increases the knowledge of parents in caring for children with autism and aggressive behavior. Further study should evaluate those interventions’ effects on attitude and behavior in caring for children with autism and aggressive behavior.