The Effect of Group Internet-Supported for Caregivers’ Affiliate Stigma Management Program on Autistic Symptoms Among School-Age with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Keywords:
Affiliate stigma, Caregiver for autistic children, Autism symptoms, Autistic school-age, Internet-supportedAbstract
Purpose: To study the effect of a group internet-supported for caregivers’ affiliate stigma management program on autistic symptoms among school-age with autism spectrum disorder
Design: Quasi-experimental research with a pretest-posttest design involving two groups
Method: The sample consisted of 40 caregivers (parents) of school-age with autism spectrum disorder, aged 6-12 years, who met the eligibility criteria and received services at the outpatient department of Rajanukul Institute. The caregivers were paired based on caregiving duration and severity of autistic symptoms, then randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group, with 20 pairs in each group. The experimental group received the group internet-supported for caregiver’s affiliate stigma management program for 3 weeks, while the control group received standard nursing care. The research instruments included the autistic symptom assessment scale (ATEC), the group internet-supported for caregiver’s affiliate stigma management program, and the affiliate stigma assessment scale. Data were analyzed using t-test statistics with statistical significance set at the .05 level
Findings: 1. The mean autistic symptom scores of school-age with autism spectrum disorder in the experimental group were significantly lower after the intervention compared to before the experiment (p < .001). 2. The mean difference in autistic symptom scores between the experimental group and the control group was statistically significant at the .05 level.
Conclusion: The group internet-supported for caregiver’s affiliate stigma management program helps reduce autistic symptoms in school-age with autism spectrum disorder.
References
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 5th ed. Arlington (VA): APA; 2013. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Rimland B, Edelson SM. Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) [Internet]. 1999 [cited 2019 Mar 15]. Available from: https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Ft03995-000
Rajanukul Institute. Statistics of Rajanukul Institute services 2023 [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2023 Dec 14]. Available from: https://th.rajanukul.go.th/_admin/file-download/FM-10230-1702518419.pdf
Yuwaprasart Waithayopathum Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Hospital. Annual performance report 2019-2021 [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2023 Nov 6]. Available from: https://ycap.go.th/about/182-รายงานผลการดำเนินงานประจำปี
Lodder A, Papadopoulos C, Randhawa G. SOLACE: a psychosocial stigma protection intervention to improve the mental health of parents of autistic children-A feasibility randomised controlled trial. J Autism Dev Disord. 2020; 50: 4477-91.https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10803-020-04498-0
McDevitt SE. While quarantined: an online parent education and training model for families of children with autism in China. Res Dev Disabil. 2021; 109: 1-9.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2020. 103851
Mak WWS, Cheung RYM. Affiliate stigma among caregivers of people with intellectual disability or mental illness. J Appl Res Intellect Disabil. 2008; 21:532-45.https://doi.org/10.1111/ j.1468-3148.2008.00426.x
Gray DE. Perceptions of stigma: the parents of autistic children. Sociol Health Illn. 1993; 15: 102-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/ 1467-9566.ep11343802
Gray DE. ‘Everybody just freezes. Everybody is just embarrassed’: felt and enacted stigma among parents of children with high functioning autism. Sociol Health Illn. 2002; 24: 734-49. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.00316
Mak WWS, Kwok YTY. Internalization of stigma for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in Hong Kong. Soc Sci Med. 2010; 70: 2045-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.02.023
Broady TR, Stoyles GJ, Morse C. Understanding carers’ lived experience of stigma: the voice of families with a child on the autism spectrum. Health Soc Care Community. 2017; 25(1): 224-33. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12297
Werner S, Shulman C. Subjective well-being among family caregivers of individuals with developmental disabilities: the role of affiliate stigma and psychosocial moderating variables. Res Dev Disabil. 2013; 34: 4103-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.ridd.2013.08.029
Wong CCY, Mak WWS, Liao KYH. Self-compassion: a potential buffer against affiliate stigma experienced by parents of children with autism spectrum disorders. Mindfulness. 2016; 7: 1385-95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0580-2
Lovell B, Wetherell MA. Affiliate stigma, perceived social support and perceived stress in caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder: a multiple mediation study. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2019; 33: 31-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2019.08.012
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Nursing Research, Innovation, and Health
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
ลิขสิทธิ์ของบทความที่ตีพิมพ์เป็นของวารสารพยาบาลศาสตร์ จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย ทั้งฉบับตีพิมพ์เป็นรูปเล่มและเอกสารออนไลน์
