The Effects of Individual and Group Training on General Health and Stress of Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Objectives: This study compared the effects of individual and group training on general health and stress of parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Methods: A sample of 75 parents of children referring to Autistic Children Foundation (including 50 parents in two experimental groups and 25 parents in control group) was taken into account. Sample parents were selected through Accessible Sampling Method. Results: In order to diagnose Autism Spectrum Disorders, questionnaires such as Goldberg–Williams’ (1998), General Health, Abedin’s (1993) Stress, and Gars’ (1995) (Gilliam) were used while in order to analyze the gathered data, the correlation method (comparison of pre-test and post-test means), independent-t (comparison of control and experimental groups) and one-way covariance (a survey of effects left by individual and group training methods on parents with emphasis being laid on control and experimental groups) were used. Discussion: There was no difference between parents receiving training in group and those receiving training in individual form. With respect to the correlation between general health and stress levels, both group and individual trainings resulted in a raise in general health and stress levels of parents.