Effects of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Parental Mental Health and Child Behavior in Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

TL;DR

Mindfulness therapy for parents of children with autism reduces parental stress and improves child behavior, even without direct child intervention.

Contribution

Demonstrates that MBCT with mindful parenting components effectively improves parental mental health and indirectly child behavior in ASD families.

Findings

MBCT significantly reduced parental depression, anxiety, and stress with sustained effects at one-month follow-up.

Parents reported perceived improvements in child behavior problems after MBCT, despite no direct intervention for children.

High program completion and acceptability rates indicate feasibility of MBCT in this population.

Abstract

What are the main findings?
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) adapted with mindful parenting components produced substantial reductions in parental depression, anxiety, and stress, alongside increases in positive affect and life satisfaction at post-intervention and at one month follow-up compared with a waitlist control group.Parents who received MBCT reported parent perceived reductions in the severity of their children’s behavior problems at post-treatment and at one-month follow-up, despite children receiving no direct intervention.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) adapted with mindful parenting components produced substantial reductions in parental depression, anxiety, and stress, alongside increases in positive affect and life satisfaction at post-intervention and at one month follow-up compared with a waitlist control group.

Parents who received MBCT reported parent perceived reductions in the severity of their children’s behavior problems at post-treatment and at one-month follow-up, despite children receiving no direct intervention.

What are the implications of the main findings?
Integrating MBCT with mindful parenting principles in both group and individual practice represents a feasible and acceptable family-centered approach for enhancing the mental health of parents raising a child with ASD and for supporting children’s behavioral adjustment.Early screening for parental depression, anxiety, and stress should be integrated into ASD services, to facilitate timely, practical, and cost-effective mental health interventions.

Integrating MBCT with mindful parenting principles in both group and individual practice represents a feasible and acceptable family-centered approach for enhancing the mental health of parents raising a child with ASD and for supporting children’s behavioral adjustment.

Early screening for parental depression, anxiety, and stress should be integrated into ASD services, to facilitate timely, practical, and cost-effective mental health interventions.

Background/Objectives: Caring for a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is often associated with elevated psychological distress and reduced life satisfaction. Mindfulness-based interventions may offer substantial benefits by enhancing emotion regulation, reducing maladaptive cognitive patterns, and strengthening mindful parenting. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) examined the effectiveness of an eight-week Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) program, enriched with mindful parenting practices, delivered to parents of children with ASD. The primary aim was to improve parental mental health, while secondary analyses explored potential indirect, parent-perceived changes in child behavior outcomes. Methods: Fifty-six parents of children with ASD were randomly assigned to an MBCT intervention group (n = 30) or a waitlist control group (n = 26). Parents completed assessments at baseline (T0), post-intervention (T1), and at one-month follow-up (T2), including the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales–21 (DASS-21), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). They also rated the overall severity of their child’s behavior problems to explore indirect treatment effects. Results: All parents receiving MBCT (100%) completed the program successfully and reported high acceptability. At baseline, no significant differences were observed between groups. At T1, the MBCT group demonstrated significant reductions in depression, anxiety, and stress, alongside increases in positive affect and life satisfaction. These improvements were maintained or strengthened at T2. However, the control group showed no significant changes over time. Additionally, parents in the MBCT group reported indirect improvements in their children’s behavioral adjustment at T1 and T2. Conclusions: Findings demonstrate that MBCT constitutes an effective intervention for reducing parental psychopathology and indirectly supporting parent-perceived improvements in child behavior, emphasizing the importance of incorporating mindfulness and mindful parenting components into family-centered interventions for parents of children with ASD.

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