The Effects of a Counseling Program Based on the Participatory Learning Processes on Stress Among Parents of Children with Autism Receiving Inpatient Services at Prasrimahabhodi Psychiatric Hospital
Keywords:
counseling, participatory learning, stress, autistic child’s parentAbstract
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in communication skills, abnormal behaviors, and social deficits. These challenges significantly affect parents and primary caregivers, often causing chronic stress due to the demands of long-term care. This quasi-experimental study employed a two-group pretest-posttest design. The objectives were to compare the stress levels of the experimental group before and after receiving a counseling program based on participatory learning processes, and to compare the outcomes between the experimental and control groups. The sample consisted of 50 primary caregivers of children diagnosed with autism who were receiving inpatient treatment at the Prasrimahabhodhi Psychiatric Hospital in Ubon Ratchathani. The participants were divided into two groups: the experimental group (n = 25) received a participatory learning-based counseling program delivered in four sessions, each lasting 60–90 minutes, while the control group (n = 25) received standard nursing care. The research tools included the counseling program based on participatory learning processes and a parental stress questionnaire. Data were analyzed using One-way Repeated Measures ANOVAs for within-group comparisons and Two-way Repeated Measures ANOVAs for between-group comparisons at the pre-test, post-test at the completion of program, and at the one-month follow-up timepoints.
The results showed that the stress levels of the experimental group had significantly decreased after participating in the program (p < .001), both immediately after the intervention and at the one-month follow-up, with mean differences of 1.68 and 1.71, respectively. At the one-month follow-up, the stress levels of the experimental group were significantly lower than those of the control group (p < .001), with a mean difference of 0.74 Therefore, the counseling program incorporating participatory learning processes effectively reduced stress levels among parents of autistic children receiving inpatient services at Prasrimahabhodi Psychiatric Hospital.
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