Cultivating joy and building bonds : the relationship between positive affect and closeness among mothers of young children with autism and controls after savouring

• Main Author: Stephanie Pereira, Ariel
• Other Authors: Gianluca Esposito
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Social sciences::Psychology::Affection and emotion
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/141358
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may experience mother- child bonds differently and have less positive affect (PA) compared to neurotypical parents. However, interventions may be impractical or come at a hefty cost. It is, therefore, prudent to explore the possibility of brief, online interventions to help mothers of children with ASD increase PA and build bonds with their child. In this thesis, we look to savouring as one possibility. We aimed to determine the effects of child relational savouring (CRS) and personal savouring (PS) on i) perceived closeness and ii) PA among mothers of young children with ASD and establish a relationship between these changes. CRS and PS were randomly assigned to mothers of young children (3-7 years) with autism (n=26) and a control group (n=52). Contradicting most literature on savouring, in general, no significant interaction nor main effects were found on PA nor IOS. Yet, baseline levels of IOS had a small but significant role in the change in IOS after savouring. In support of the self-expansion theory, the more a mother’s PA increased, the closer they perceived their relationship with their child after savouring. Results suggest that savouring may not always universally increase PA. Furthermore, the IOS scale may be less susceptible to changes through savouring. Practical applications include a critical examination that savouring may not be equally advantageous in every population. Future research could assess if mothers with lower levels of perceived closeness would be more likely to reap the benefits of savouring.