Evaluating the Effectiveness of Horse Training Interventions on Psychological Indicators and Quality of Life of Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Aged 5 to 10 Years

Amini, Mohammad Mahdi; Aghaei Bajestan, Zahra; Mansourjouzan, Zahra

Volume 13 - Articles-1402 MEJDS (2023) 13: 120 | Back to browse issues page

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Amini M M, Aghaei Bajestan Z, Mansourjouzan Z. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Horse Training Interventions on Psychological Indicators and Quality of Life of Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Aged 5 to 10 Years. MEJDS 2023; 13 :120-120
URL: http://jdisabilstud.org/article-1-2856-en.html

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Horse Training Interventions on Psychological Indicators and Quality of Life of Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Aged 5 to 10 Years

Mohammad Mahdi Amini ^*¹

, Zahra Aghaei Bajestan²

, Zahra Mansourjouzan³

1- PhD in Motor Behavior, Assistant Professor, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran
2- Master of Motor Behavior, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran
3- PhD Student in Motor Behavior, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract: (990 Views)

Abstract
Background & Objectives: The adverse effects of having a disabled child cause tension and stress in family members, especially the mother. Uncontrollable behavioral disorders of the child can lead to the mother's isolation, social avoidance, and sensitivity to negative evaluation. Sometimes, despite the mother's strong desire for social interaction, she avoids approaching others and building social relationships, resulting in her self‌–esteem. Horse training improves the child's cognitive, psychological, and social development, helps social interactions, enhances sensory processing, and increases attention and concentration, motor skills, and planning. The training improves children's cooperation in self‌–care activities. Mothers who are constantly encountering problems and stresses have a double motivation to cope with problems, and during the training period, children develop psychological indicators. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of horse training interventions on psychological indicators and quality of life of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder aged 5 to 10 years.
Methods: The research method of the present study was quasi‌–experimental with a pretest‌–posttest design and a control group. The statistical population included all mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder aged 5 to 10 years living in Mashhad City, Iran. For this purpose, 30 children with autism spectrum disorder aged 5 to 10 years were selected by available sampling, and their eligible and volunteered mothers were included in the study and randomly divided into two groups of 15: experimental and control. The inclusion criteria were as follows: mothers with children with autism spectrum disorder aged 5‌–10 years (diagnosis of the disorder by a pediatric neurologist), having physical ability, age range from 25 to 50 years, education level higher than diploma, not receiving any psychological treatment, willingness to participate in meetings, and filling out questionnaires. The exclusion criteria included the absence of more than three sessions in the experimental group, showing severe behavioral problems during the sessions, and non-participation and non-cooperation in the research. In the present study, data were collected via Ryff's Scale of Psychological Well-being (Ryff, 1980), Short Form Health Survey (Sf-36) (Ware & Sherbourne, 1992), Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (Hills & Argyle, 2002), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985). After assigning the samples into training groups with horses and control, a pretest was taken from both groups (mothers of children). The experimental group was trained with horses in 3 sessions (each session 1 hour) per week for 8 weeks. The control group received no special training during this period and only participated in the pretest and posttest with the training group. It should be noted that the mothers accompanied the children during the training with the horse. Analysis of covariance at the significant level of 0.05 was used to analyze the data in SPSS software.
Results: The results showed that the mothers of the horse training group had a significantly better condition after their children's training intervention compared to the control group in terms of psychological well-being (p<0.001), life satisfaction (p<0.001), happiness (p<0.001), and quality of life (p<0.001).
Conclusion: According to the results of the study, training exercises with horses are useful and effective in improving the psychological indicators and quality of life of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder.

Keywords: Horse training, Children with autism spectrum disorder, Psychological indicators, Parents

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Type of Study: Original Research Article | Subject: Rehabilitation

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