Effects of sexual emotion management of adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders Program on the ability of caregivers to Manage Sexual Emotion of Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Objectives To compare the scores of caregivers' ability to manage the sexual emotions of adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) before and after receiving the sexual emotion management program, and between the experimental group that received the program and the control group that received routine nursing care.

Materials and Methods A quasi-experimental study with a two-group pre-test and post-test design. The sample consists of 40 female caregivers (mothers, aunts, grandmothers, etc.) of children diagnosed with ASD, aged 10-18 years. The sample was selected purposively, matched by age, with 40% being in the age range of 41-51 years, before being randomly assigned to either the experimental or the control group, with 20 participants in each group. The experimental tool is a sexual emotion management program for adolescents with ASD, which includes 6 activities: 1) Building relationships, jointly exploring and accepting; 2) Observing how to recognize sexual emotions; 3) Managing sexual emotions with understanding; 4) Applying knowledge to practice; 5) Monitoring progress in practice; 6) Sharing pride. The data collection tool is an assessment questionnaire of caregivers' ability to manage the sexual emotions of adolescents with ASD. The experiment and data collection were conducted over 8 weeks, with weeks 1 and 8 involving assessments of caregivers' abilities before and after receiving the program, respectively. Weeks 2-7 involved activities according to the plan, once a week for 90 minutes each session. Data analysis was performed using Paired t-test and Independent       t-test.

Results The scores of caregivers' ability to manage the sexual emotions of adolescents with ASD in the experimental group after receiving the program (= 30.05, SD = 3.66) were higher than before receiving the program (= 15.70, SD = 3.57) and higher than the scores of the control group (before the program: =15.90, SD = 3.193 and after the program: = 16.20, SD = 3.27), with statistical significance at the level of .05.

Conclusion The sexual emotion management program for adolescents with ASD is a method for developing caregivers' abilities to manage the sexual emotions of adolescents with ASD. Participating in activities designed to provide both knowledge and skill practice on specified topics can help caregivers to learn, understand, remember, and effectively apply the skills with adolescents with ASD.