Savoring, social support and parental distress on mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder

• Main Author: Lee, Gillian Shijie
• Other Authors: Gianluca Esposito
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/73965
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Savoring, which is the ability to attend to positive emotions and memories, helps to boost feelings of happiness when there are few positive experiences. Mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) frequently have significant levels of stress and reduced levels of well-being in relation to mothers of typically developing children. ASD is a disorder characterised by social and communication deficits, therefore parents face multiple parenting challenges due to possible difficulties interpreting their child’s needs. 20 mothers with children with ASD were given a 1 hour online questionnaire, and were assigned to different conditions - either personal or relational savoring. Personal savoring involves focusing on an individual memory while relational savoring involves focusing on a positive past event with a relational partner. Mothers’ levels of parenting satisfaction and positive affect were examined prior and after the savoring condition. Other variables concerning mothers of children with ASD that are documented frequently such as perceived social support and parental distress are also examined in relation to parenting satisfaction and positive affect. Results revealed that mothers in the relational savoring condition had decreased levels of positive affect and mothers with lower perceived social support tended to have significant levels of parental distress. Findings show that mothers that have lesser perceived social support and more parental distress could possibly benefit more from the savoring intervention as compared to those with higher perceived social support and lower parental distress. Future implications on improving the savoring intervention are also discussed.