The effectiveness of story therapy on emotion regulation and anxiety symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 گروه علوم تربیتی، دانشگاه فرهنگیان مازندران، ساری، ایران

2 Master's degree in psychology, Saroiye Institute of Higher Education, Sari, Iran

3 Master's degree in guidance and counseling

Abstract

     The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of story therapy on emotion regulation and anxiety symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder. The research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of the present study included children with autism who referred to autism treatment centers in the age range of 9 to 14 years in Gonbad (42 people) and the number of 30 sick children was selected in a purposeful way and randomly divided into two experimental groups and Controls were assigned. The experimental group underwent the story therapy protocol of Moradian et al. (2013) during 8 sessions of 60 minutes, while no intervention was done for the control group. The questionnaires used in the present study included the emotion regulation questionnaire (Shields and Chiketi, 1995) and the anxiety symptoms questionnaire (Spence, 1999). Data were analyzed using multivariate covariance test (MANCOVA). Findings showed that story therapy is effective in regulating emotion and anxiety symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder. Based on the results of the present research, it can be seen that the regulation of emotions and anxiety symptoms is the basis of physiological and emotional flexibility in a person, which enables him to have the optimal level of resilience. In this optimal state, a person can successfully participate in social activities and find the ability to increase the continuity of social interactions, effective communication and adaptation to changes in the surrounding environment, that it is suggested to be considered by counselors and psychologists in rehabilitation programs.

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Journal of Pouyesh in Education and Consultation (JPEC)
Volume 1402, Issue 18 - Serial Number 18
September 2023
Pages 133-149

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History

  • Receive Date: 08 June 2023
  • Revise Date: 29 July 2023
  • Accept Date: 29 July 2023

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