Effectiveness of the Mindful Motherhood Support Program on Quality of Life Among Palestinian Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

Researchers studied a 12-week support program called 'Mindful Motherhood' for Palestinian mothers of autistic children. The program significantly improved mothers' quality of life in all areas, with the biggest improvements in mental wellbeing and overall life satisfaction. These benefits lasted for at least six months after the program ended, showing the support had lasting positive effects.

This quasi-experimental study evaluated the Mindful Motherhood Support Program's effectiveness in improving quality of life among 56 Palestinian mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder. Participants were divided into experimental and control groups and completed the WHOQOL-BREF assessment at baseline, post-intervention, and six-month follow-up. The 12-week group-based program demonstrated significant improvements across all quality of life domains for the experimental group compared to controls. The strongest effects were observed in psychological wellbeing (effect size 0.70) and overall quality of life (effect size 0.68).

Importantly, these improvements were largely maintained at the six-month follow-up, suggesting sustained benefits from the intervention program.

Results support implementing structured, group-based mindfulness programs for mothers of autistic children. The sustained benefits suggest such programs could be cost-effective interventions. Findings may inform development of family-centered autism support services, particularly in similar cultural contexts.

Quasi-experimental design limits causal inference compared to randomized controlled trials. Small sample size (56 participants) may limit generalizability. Cultural context specific to Palestinian population may affect applicability to other settings.

Raising a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents severe difficulties that adversely affect the mother's quality of life (QoL). However, very limited research has examined the impacts of support programs on the QoL of mothers of children with ASD in the Palestinian context. This study assesses the effectiveness of Mindful Motherhood, a comprehensive intervention, in improving QoL in this population. A quasi-experimental design was employed, with 56 mothers assigned to experimental or control groups.

Quality of Life (QoL) was measured using the WHOQOL-BREF at baseline, post-intervention, and at a six-month follow-up. The 12-week group-based program led to significant improvements in all QoL domains for the experimental group compared to the controls, with the highest effect sizes in psychological (|δ| = 0.70) and overall QoL (|δ| = 0.68) domains; furthermore, these gains were largely sustained at the six-month follow-up assessment. The results are expected to inform policymakers in developing sustainable support systems for mothers and promoting inclusive, family-centered approaches to ASD care in the Palestinian context.