DIFFERENTIAL INFLUENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MINDFULNESS MEDITATION IN ALLEVIATING PARENTING STRESS IN MOTHERS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Bindu; M. K; Arjunan; N. K

Volume : VIII, Issue : VIII, August - 2019

DIFFERENTIAL INFLUENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MINDFULNESS MEDITATION IN ALLEVIATING PARENTING STRESS IN MOTHERS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Bindu, M. K, Arjunan, N. K

Abstract :

The study explored the differential influence of mental health on reducing parenting stress in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by employing the Brief Mindfulness–Based Stress Reduction Programme (BMBSRP). The pre–test post–test control group design was adopted for the study, wherein two convenient groups of mothers of children diagnosed with ASD were designated as control group and experimental group. The participants were pre–tested for their mental health and separated into high–, average–, and low mental health groups. The parenting stress of the participants in both the control and experimental groups were measured before and immediately after the experimentation. The experimental group was intervened with the BMBSRP for 4–weeks at the rate of two 1.5 hours sessions per week. Result of the analysis revealed that the BMBSRP is effective in alleviating the parenting stress of mothers of children with ASD, which is a function of their mental health.