Volume 11, Issue 3 (Autumn 2025)
J Health Res Commun 2025, 11(3): 54-67 |
Back to browse issues page
Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
Davoudi H, Shams Kolahi S. Impact of Compassion-focused Therapy on the Self-compassion of Mothers of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder in Iran. J Health Res Commun 2025; 11 (3) :54-67
URL: http://jhc.mazums.ac.ir/article-1-1166-en.html
URL: http://jhc.mazums.ac.ir/article-1-1166-en.html
Department of Counseling, Khom.C. , Islamic Azad University, Khomein, Iran.
Abstract: (583 Views)
Introduction and Purpose Raising an autistic child is challenging and can increase parental stress. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy (CFT) on the self-compassion of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Iran.
Methods This is a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test design. Participants were 40 mothers of children with ASD living in Arak, Iran, in 2024, selected using convenience and purposive sampling, and randomly assigned to two groups: CFT and control (each with 20 participants). The instrument used in this study was Neff et al.’s Self-Compassion Scale (SCS). The intervention group received the educational intervention based on Germer’s protocol, at seven two-hour group sessions, weekly. The data were collected from both groups at the first session (pre-test phase) and in the seventh session (after 57 days) in the post-test phase. Univariate and multivariate analyses of covariance were used to analyze the data in SPSS software, version 26.
Results The CFT was effective in improving mothers’ self-compassion (F1.17=56.98, P=0.001, η2=0.77). Also, the η2 values showed that CFT explained 44% of the variance in the self-kindness component, 61% in the self-judgment component, 27% in the common humanity component, 65% in the isolation component, 39% in the mindfulness component, and 31% in the over-identification component.
Conclusion The CFT can improve the self-compassion in mothers of children with ASD. Therefore, this method is recommended for improving the self-compassion of these mothers in counseling and psychotherapy centers.
Methods This is a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test design. Participants were 40 mothers of children with ASD living in Arak, Iran, in 2024, selected using convenience and purposive sampling, and randomly assigned to two groups: CFT and control (each with 20 participants). The instrument used in this study was Neff et al.’s Self-Compassion Scale (SCS). The intervention group received the educational intervention based on Germer’s protocol, at seven two-hour group sessions, weekly. The data were collected from both groups at the first session (pre-test phase) and in the seventh session (after 57 days) in the post-test phase. Univariate and multivariate analyses of covariance were used to analyze the data in SPSS software, version 26.
Results The CFT was effective in improving mothers’ self-compassion (F1.17=56.98, P=0.001, η2=0.77). Also, the η2 values showed that CFT explained 44% of the variance in the self-kindness component, 61% in the self-judgment component, 27% in the common humanity component, 65% in the isolation component, 39% in the mindfulness component, and 31% in the over-identification component.
Conclusion The CFT can improve the self-compassion in mothers of children with ASD. Therefore, this method is recommended for improving the self-compassion of these mothers in counseling and psychotherapy centers.
Type of Study: Research(Original) |
Subject:
Health Education and Promotion
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
