Anxiety Acute, Depression and Quality of Life, Stress, Stress in Parents of Autistic Children
Conditions
Keywords
autism, stress, parents, caregivers, anxiety, depression
Brief summary
This project aims to encourage a sense of belonging, community, and emotional support for parents of autistic children through a group drumming (music therapy) intervention.
Detailed description
This pilot one-group pretest-posttest study will investigate the limited efficacy and acceptability of an 8-week drumming group on immediate stress (pre-post session) as measured by the STAI-S Short Form scale (Spielberger, 1977); on anxiety and depressive symptoms, as measured by the K-10 scale (Kessler et al., 2002) before and after the 8-week program, and group cohesion and acceptability as measured by the Group Therapy Experience Scale (GTES, Marziliano et al., 2018) after the program. As a group setting, this program does not substitute clinical treatment.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALGroup Drumming
This Drumming program is based on HealthRhythms®, a drumming protocol that has been used extensively in clinical and community populations and has research support (e.g., Grab et al., 2023; Stevens \& Fowl, 2024; Wachi et al., 2007). Adaptations will be derived from the PI's clinical and research experience with parents of autistic children. Each drumming session will have the following structure: introduction to the program, light movement \& music, icebreakers with small percussions, technique pointers for percussion instruments, rhythmic introductions (sharing names with a percussive rhythm), free group drumming, soundscapes (creating visualizations with drumming), verbal processing, closing drumming exercise. The soundscapes are creative outlets to "paint a picture" with music. These exercises promote community, engagement, emotional expression, and creative thinking, which reduce stress. Specific strategies will include reflecting, mirroring, validating, and solution reframing.
Sponsors
Arizona State University
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* parents or main caregivers of children in the Autism Spectrum, * able to read and write in English. * 18 years or older
Exclusion criteria
* Paid caregivers * Unable to speak, read and write in English * Unable to follow instructions in English
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| K-10 | Pretest at the beginning of the first weekly session, and posttest at the end of the 8th weekly session. | Anxiety and depressive symptoms, as measured by the K-10 scale (Kessler et al., 2002). Maximum score is 50, with each of the 10 items scored 1 to 5. Higher scores indicate higher distress. Optimal cutoff scores for clinically significant nonspecific psychological distress and need for treatment: total score =12, Depression = 7, and Anxiety = 3/4 (Lace et al., 2019). |
| STAI-S | Pretest at the beginning of the first weekly session, and posttest at the end of the 8th weekly session. | Measures of state anxiety as measured by the State Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults- Short Form Y1 (STAIAD-S Y1) scale (Spielberger, 1977). Maximum score is 40, with each of the 10 items scored 1 to 4, and four reverse-coded items. Higher scores indicate less anxiety (more wellbeing). |
| GTES | Posttest at the end of the 8th weekly session. | Group cohesion and acceptability as measured by the Group Therapy Experience Scale (GTES, Marziliano et al., 2018). Maximum score is 80 with each of the 16 items scored from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicate better group experience. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOREugenia Hernandez Ruiz, PhD
Arizona State University
Outcome results
None listed