EMPOWERING MOTHERS: A SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM TO ALLEVIATE POST-PUBERTY SEXUAL BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS IN GIRLS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Abstract

This study intended to estimate an intervention for mothers with girls analyzed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who were showing the symptoms of sexual behavior problems subsequent the onset of puberty. The sample involved 30 mothers with adolescents girls with ASD and had sexual behavior problems in Zarqa Governorate. The themes were randomly divided into two groups: an experimental group (n = 15) and a control group (n=15), the previous had to participate in the exercise program industrialized for this study, while there was no such intervention done with the latter one. The Sexual Aspects Scale helped as a pretest and posttest of the intervention. The training was planned for mothers to improve their awareness and skills on managing daughters’ sexual behavior, and it continued for 2 months. Consequences showed significant differences between the experimental and control groups in posttest scores on the Sexual Aspects Scale (α = 0.05). These score variances favored the intervention group and show the beneficial effects of II training program in decreasing sexual behavior problems among adolescent girls with ASD. Moreover, the effect size results showed that the action had a moderate impact on the dependent variable, sexual behaviour dimensions.