The effect of the empowerment program for parents with a child with autism on parents' self-efficiency, care burden and stress levels

Objective: In this study, it was aimed to examine the effects of the empowerment program, applied to the parents of children with autism spectrum disorder, on their self-efficacy, care burden and stress levels. Material and Method: This two-stage study was conducted according to a sequential transformational design, one of the mixed research designs. The qualitative part of the study was structured according to the phenomenological method (n: 17), and the quantitative part was structured according to the randomized controlled experimental model. The universe of the study consisted of parents who have a child with autism between the ages of 6 and 14 living in the city center of Manisa (N: 414) and the sample of the study consisted of parents who voluntarily agreed to participate in the study and who met the inclusion criteria (Experimental group: 34, Control group: 35). The data of the study were collected by using the Introductory Information Form and the Interview Form, Parental Self-efficacy Scale and Zarit Care Burden Scale, Perceived Stress Scale and Family Empowerment Scale. The data were collected by the researcher through face-to-face interviews between October 2019 and January 2020. Official permissions from the necessary institutions were obtained in order to conduct the research. Results: After the empowerment program, it was found that there was significant difference between the Parental Self-Efficacy Scale total scores, Perceived Stress Scale total scores, Perceived Stress Scale Insufficient Self-Efficacy and Perceived Stress Scale Stress/Discomfort Perception Sub-Dimension scores, Family Empowerment Scale total scores and Family Sub-Dimension scores of the parents in the experimental and control groups (p<0,05). There was no significant difference between the Zarit Care Burden Scale total scores and the Family Empowerment Scale Community Participation Sub-Dimension scores of the experimental and control group parents (p>0.05). Conclusions: As a result of the research, it was seen that the empowerment program applied to the parents with a child with autism increased the self-efficacy of the parents, reduced their stress and strengthened the family, but did not affect the burden of care. Key Words: Autism, Parental Empowerment, Motivational Interviewing, Burden of Care, Stress