Article ID: 20-024
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of short parent training (PT) on parenting stress and depression among parents who have children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The program consisted of five structured sessions: (1) choice of behavior that focuses on the instructional way to observe children’s behaviors and teaching parents, (2) using positive reinforcement, (3) task analysis and environmental control, (4) token economy, and (5) extinction of response and summarization of the program. Participants (N＝22) who received the PT program completed the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (QRS) and Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II), and evaluated the achievement ratio of increase in the chosen behavior by the parents. The results revealed that after PT, parenting stress improved significantly and depression improved marginally, yet significantly. In addition, the average achievement ratio of targeted behavior was 74.29％. These results show that this PT program is effective for relieving parenting stress and is easy to participate in for parents who have children with ASD or ADHD.
