Pilot Study: Stress Reduction in Caregivers of Children With ASD Using ACT

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Caregiver Stress
• Interventions: Behavioral: Caregiver Support Group; Behavioral: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

• Registration Number: NCT05944289
• Lead Sponsor: Fielding Graduate University

Brief Summary

Parents/Caregivers of children with autism need psychological flexibility and self-efficacy for the ACT program to be effective.

This study will compare intervention differences between groups. Repeated measures will be given three times (pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up) to an ACT intervention group and a support group (control). The purpose of the present study is to compare the effects of a brief ACT-based workshop for parents of children with autism with a concurrent parent support control group using a variety of self-report measures addressing psychological flexibility, depression, thought suppression, cognitive fusion, positive aspects of caregiving, stress, self-compassion, and valued living.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2023-03-19
• Study First Submitted: 2023-05-30
• Study First Submitted QC: 2023-07-05
• Study First Posted: 2023-07-13
• Primary Completion: 2023-09-11
• Study Completion: 2024-01-11
• Status Verified: 2025-03
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-03-11
• Last Update Posted: 2025-03-13

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 60

Inclusion Criteria

• Individuals will be eligible for entry if (1) they are the biological or adoptive parent (and primary caregiver) of a child with a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder, (2) the child is 2-17 years of age inclusive, (3) speak English, and (4) they plan to live in the area for at least six months and (5) present proof of vaccination and (6) agree to masking and social distancing during the in-person workshop.

Exclusion Criteria

• Individuals will be excluded from the study if (1) they are involved in a concurrent clinical trial of psychosocial interventions for parents/caregivers or (2) they (or their child/spouse) indicate during telephone screening or on the demographics questionnaire active major medical issues such as cancer, organ transplant, or severe mental health disorders that prevent active participation.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Support	Caregiver Support Group	Control Group - Caregiver support group
ACT	Acceptance and Commitment Therapy	ACT Intervention Group

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Perceived Stress Scale - 10 Items (PSS-10)	Follow-up- completed within 1 month of intervention completion	10-item questionnaire used to measure the degree to which life has been experienced as unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded
Positive Aspects of Caregiving (PAC)	Follow-up- completed within 1 month of intervention completion	nine-item pencil-and-paper instrument that assesses caregivers' subjectively perceived gains from desirable aspects of or positive affective returns from providing care for their loved one
Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18)	Follow-up- completed within 1 month of intervention completion	18-item self-administered measure that provides information on participants' overall psychological distress and Global Severity Index, as well as scales of somatization, depression, and anxiety
Parental Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF)	Follow-up- completed within 1 month of intervention completion	36-item self-report instrument
Self-Compassion Scale - Short Form (SCS-SF)	Follow-up- completed within 1 month of intervention completion	12-item self-report measure of self-compassion, such as self-kindness, self-judgment, common humanity, isolation, mindfulness, and overidentification

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Fielding Graduate University; 🇺🇸 Santa Barbara, California, United States