Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment-based Therapy (ACT) on Experiential Avoidance, Intolerance of Uncertainty and Meta-parenting among mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment-based Therapy (ACT) on Experiential Avoidance, Intolerance of Uncertainty and Meta-parenting among Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

a quasi-experimental, pretest–posttest design with two parallel groups (experimental and control), single-blind procedure and randomization based on a random number table, 30 participants, two-month follow-up period

This study will be conducted at the “Darya” Autism Rehabilitation Center in Behbahan, under the supervision of the Welfare Organization. After screening participants based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria and obtaining informed consent, they will be randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. The intervention will be implemented at the center, and data will be collected from both groups through pre-test and post-test assessments using questionnaires.

Inclusion criteria: Being mother of a child with autism, Being in the age range of 25 to 45 years, Not suffering from specific psychiatric disorders or physical diseases that require the use of drugs or special treatment, Not being divorced or head of household. exclusion criteria: Participating in other therapy sessions at the same time, suffering from physical diseases or psychiatric disorder in a way that interferes with treatment sessions or requires hospitalization or drug therapy, Reluctance to continue cooperation

Following random assignment, the experimental group will received group-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) across 8 to 10 ninety-minute sessions, while the control group will received no intervention. A pretest-posttest design will employed to evaluate both groups.

Experiential avoidance, Intolerance of uncertainty, Meta-parenting

Participants will be allocated to either the intervention or control group using simple randomization, generated by a computer-based random number generator. The allocation sequence will be pre-determined and concealed within sequentially numbered, opaque, and identical sealed envelopes. After confirming eligibility and obtaining informed consent, the envelopes will be opened in chronological order of enrollment for each participant. This procedure ensures allocation concealment and minimizes selection bias.

This dataset includes deidentified individual participant data, including demographic variables and outcome measures collected before and after the intervention. All personal identifiers will be removed before sharing. Only anonymized data related to the study outcomes will be made available to researchers upon reasonable request for scientific use.

Data will become available 6 months after publication of the study results and will remain available for at least 5 years. Access will be provided upon reasonable request to the principal investigator for academic and research purposes.

Access is available to qualified researchers and students affiliated with academic or scientific institutions. Data will be shared for scientific and research purposes only, subject to the approval of the principal investigator.

Data usage is restricted to: Scientific and academic research purposes only. Analysis outlined in the submitted research proposal. No commercial, insurance, or legal use. No redistribution to third parties. Signed Data Sharing Agreement required, ensuring confidentiality and no re-identification attempts. Appropriate acknowledgement of the original study in any resulting publications. Approval by the principal investigator and, if needed, institutional ethics committee.

Data and related documents can be obtained through the following contact: Primary contact: Principal Investigator: Ladan Kasebzadeh M.A. Student in General Psychology Email: Ladan.kasebzadeh@iau.ir

The process for requesting access to the data is as follows: The applicant must submit a formal written request to the principal investigator, including a brief research proposal outlining the objectives and planned analyses. The request will be reviewed within 2–4 weeks based on scientific merit and ethical considerations. If approved, the applicant must sign a Data Sharing Agreement confirming confidentiality and appropriate data use. If required, proof of institutional ethics approval must be provided. The deidentified dataset will be shared electronically within 2 weeks after completion of the required documentation. The total expected time from submission to data access is approximately 4–6 weeks, depending on the completeness of the request.