The Effectiveness of Integrative Approach Logotherapy and Hope Therapy on Dysfunctional Metacognitive Beliefs of Mothers of Autistic Children.

Zekri, Seyedeh Mansoureh; Yasaghi, Fatemeh; Jalalvand, Arghavan; Mokarram, Maryam; Eghbalpour, Forouzan

Background: Raising a child with a disability can often present parents with a multitude of obstacles that range from being socially isolated and experiencing emotional stress and depression to grappling with feelings of grief and struggling with financial burdens. The present study seeks to investigate the effectiveness of the integrated method (logotherapy and hope therapy) on the dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods: The research study at hand followed a semi-experimental and pretest-posttest design, with a 3-month follow-up stage. The statistical population of the study comprised all mothers of children with autism in the summer and fall of 2023 in Shiraz, Iran. Through purposive sampling, 27 mothers of children with ASD were selected and randomly grouped into two experimental and control groups. The experimental groups' intervention consisted of an 8-session treatment protocol, 90 minutes a week, relying on the integrated method (logotherapy and hope therapy). The control group received no special treatment. The research instrumentation consisted of the dimensions of dysfunctional metacognition beliefs in the Metacognitions Questionnaire (MCQ-30). Descriptive statistics were calculated for the study, and the multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used in SPSS software. Results: The results showed that the integrated method (logotherapy and hope therapy) was effective on negative beliefs (P < 0.001) and cognitive uncertainty (P < 0.001) of mothers of children with ASD. Conclusion: The results of the study demonstrated that the integrated method (logotherapy and hope therapy) affected the dysfunctional metacognition beliefs of mothers of autistic children. Additionally, it became evident that the tendency towards meaning, hope, and achieving the meaning of pain, suffering, and unwanted and tragic events improves the psychological coherence and quality of life (QOL) of mothers of autistic children in the mentioned difficult situation.

CHILDREN with autism spectrum disorders; AUTISTIC children; PSYCHOLOGICAL stress; QUALITY of life; AUTISM in children

International Journal of Body, Mind & Culture (2345-5802), 2024, Vol 11, Issue 5, p687

2345-5802

Academic Journal

10.22122/ijbmc.v11i5.646