Effects of Occupational Therapy Participation in Autism and Parental Family Quality of Life, Psychological Resilience, Self-Efficacy, and Caregiving Burden

Introduction: This study aims to examine the continuity of individuals with autism participating in occupational therapy programs and the relationship with their caregivers’ family quality of life, psychological resilience, parental self-efficacy, and caregiving burden. Materials and Methods: The sample of the study consisted of caregivers of 60 children with autism aged between 3 and 10 years. To assess participation in the occupational therapy program, caregivers were administered the Occupational Therapy Program Attendance/Non-attendance Interview Form. For evaluating caregivers’ family quality of life, the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale (BCQ) was used; psychological resilience was assessed via the Resilience Scale for Adults (RS); parental self-efficacy was measured with Parental Self-Efficacy Scale for Children with Disabilities; and caregiving burden was evaluated using the Zarit Parental Self-Efficacy Scale (Z-PSE). A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The children's average age was 5.8 ± 1.6, with 58.3% (n=35) diagnosed with autism and 41.7% (n=25) with atypical autism. Statistically significant differences were observed between caregivers who selected “I experience time constraints” as a reason for non-attendance and those who did not, in the following scales: BCQ (p=0.003), RS (p=0.019), Z-PSE (p=0.01), CBS (p=0.003) Discussion and Conclusion: The findings reveal that time management difficulties among caregivers are significant determinants of family quality of life, psychological resilience, parental self-efficacy, and caregiving burden, compared to caregivers not experiencing such difficulties. Future studies should investigate the effects of time management training through follow-up periods to assess its impact comprehensively.