ffectiveness of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) on Mother-Child Relationship and Parenting Stress in Mothers of Children with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Single Case Study

Rajabi, Gholamreza; Mousavian Nejad, Seyed Khalil; Sodani, Mansour; Amanelahi, Abbas

doi:10.22059/japr.2026.371224.644838

ffectiveness of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) on Mother-Child Relationship and Parenting Stress in Mothers of Children with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Single Case Study

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Gholamreza Rajabi ¹

Seyed Khalil Mousavian Nejad ²

Mansour Sodani ³

Abbas Amanelahi ²

¹ Professor, Department of Counseling, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, ‎Iran.‎

² Department of Counseling, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran‎

³ ‏Department of Counseling, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran‎

10.22059/japr.2026.371224.644838

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) on mother-child relationship and parenting stress in mothers of children with high functioning autism spectrum disorder was conducted in a single-case experimental design of non-concurrent multiple baseline designs type. Methods: The population this study included all mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder with high functioning referring to "Khuzestan Province Autism Support Association" and "Whats App Group of Mothers of Autistic Children". Among these mothers, four mothers were selected using purposive-volunteer sampling method and based on the include and exclude criteria for the study. To collect data of was used Parenting Stress Index-Short form fourth-Edition (PSI-4-SF) and Child-Parent Relationship Scale (CPRS). The data analysis was conducted using visual analysis (graph drawing), reliable change index, recovery rate formula (increase rate), and normative comparison methods. Results: The findings showed that these mothers have improved in the mother-child relationship (34.92%) and parenting stress (26.14%) variables Also, data analysis using a normative comparison showed that the participating mothers were not distinguishable from normal mothers after treatment. Conclusion: Parent-child interactive therapy improved the relationship between mothers and their children and reduced stress of mothers of children with high function autism spectrum disorder.

Keywords

parenting stress

parent-child interactive therapy

mother-child relationship

autism spectrum disorder with high-functioning