Effectiveness of intervention based on acceptance and commitment on social perception, social support, cognitive flexibility and affective exchange in mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The aim of this study was to examine the Effect of Acceptance and Commitment Intervention on Perceived Social Support, Cognitive Flexibility, and Emotional exchange in mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This study was semi-experimental with pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population includes 70 mothers and a random sample of 34 mothers with autistic children aged 5 to 8 years in the Autism Rehabilitation Center of Ayat city of Shahriar selected from the total population, randomly assigned in the control group (n=17) and the experiment group (n=17). Data were collected using Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Denis Cognitive Flexibility Questionnaire (CFQ), and McMaster family assessment device  (Affective exchange) (CFI). The experiment group received acceptance and aommitment therapy for 9 sessions of 90 minutes twice a week. Data were analyzed by Multivariable Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) using SPSS23 software. The results showed significant differences between the components of affective exchange, perception of behavior justification, perception of control-ability, perception of substitutes for human behaviors, total cognitive flexibility, family support, friends’ support, other’s support, and total perceived social support  in the experimental group were higher (P≤0.05). The findings of the current research showed that acceptance and commitment therapy can be used to boost mental health level and cognitive/social components of mothers with autism spectrum disorder.