Japan Society for the Promotion of Science:Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research
Date (from‐to) : 2011 -2013
Author : YAMADA Atsurou; WATANABE Norio; KADUKI Fujika; NISHIYAMA Takeshi; SUZUKI Masako
This study investigates the effectiveness of group psychoeducation to relieve the psychological distress of mothers of children with high-functioning pervasive developmental disorders. Seventy-two mothers were randomly assigned to a 4-session brief group psychoeducational program (GP), the sessions held every second week in addition to the usual treatment (GP+ treatment as usual (TAU) group), or to a TAU-alone group. The primary outcome was the 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) at 21 weeks post-randomization (week 21). The GHQ-28, the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), and the MOS 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) were carried out at weeks 7 and 21. The GHQ-28 score at week 21 indicated a greater improvement in the TAU-alone. There was no evidence that GP+TAU led to a greater improvement of the maternal mental health than TAU-alone at week 7. The psychoeducational program did not alleviate the maternal distress or the caregiver burden.