Examining the Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Couple Therapy on Marital Satisfaction of Parents and Internalizing and Externalizing Behavioral Problems of Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral couple therapy program on the marital satisfaction of parents and the internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems of students with ASD.

Methods and Materials: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up with a control group. The statistical population consisted of all parents of 10- to 15-year-old male students with autism in Mashhad in 2023. The sampling method was convenience sampling, including 58 eligible parents of children with internalizing behavioral problems. These parents were selected from the Tebassom public center and the Mehr Amin private clinic and were divided into two groups: experimental and control. Data were collected using the Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire, Child Behavior Checklist, and GARS-2 Autism Rating Scale and analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and SPSS.22 software.

Findings: The results indicated that the implementation of the cognitive-behavioral couple therapy program significantly impacted mothers' marital satisfaction (F=38.98, P<0.001), fathers' marital satisfaction (F=65.25, P<0.001), externalizing behavioral problems (F=61.80, P<0.001), and internalizing behavioral problems (F=29.48, P<0.001) of children with autism.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that the cognitive-behavioral couple therapy program effectively improves the marital satisfaction of parents and the internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems of children with ASD. This approach can be utilized to reduce the psychological issues of children with ASD.