Date

5-23-2025

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Cynthia A. Edins

Keywords

Mindfulness, parental stress, autism, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, stress, and mindful parenting

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

The current study aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of mindfulness and mindful parenting in reducing the stress and anxiety levels of parents with children who have autism. This study utilized pre- and post-surveys to assess parents' stress and anxiety levels before and after participating in the mindfulness component of the Dialectical Behavior Therapy course. These levels were compared to those of parents involved in an Applied Behavior Analysis program, where a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) conducted parent training at least once a month.

Participants were recruited by posting research flyers on social media platforms, including the Autism Facebook group. Participation was voluntary, allowing participants to leave the program at any time without penalty. A total of ten families were recruited. At the end of the eight-week program, the researcher compared data from participants who participated in the mindfulness component of the DBT course with those receiving regular training by a BCBA. Participants who attended the mindfulness program for eight weeks experienced reduced stress levels, as evidenced by comparing the DASS scores from baseline to post-intervention using a matched t-test. In contrast, participants who received parent training from the BCBA as part of their child’s ABA program did not show a reduction in their DASS scores when comparing baseline scores to those after eight weeks using matched-pairs t-tests. The comparison of mindful parenting levels indicated no significant changes. Additionally, participants’ scores in mindful parenting did not correlate with their stress levels.

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