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Savouring as an Intervention to Decrease Negative Affect in Anxious Mothers of Children with Autism and Neurotypical
Ariel S Pereira1, Atiqah Azhari1, Chloe A Hong1
1Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
Brain Sciences
|June 2, 2021
Summary
Savouring interventions effectively reduced negative affect in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and neurotypical children. Higher maternal anxiety correlated with greater reductions in negative affect post-savouring.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Emotion Regulation
- Parenting Studies
Background:
- Savouring is an emotion regulation strategy involving prolonging positive experiences.
- Personal savouring focuses on individual memories, while relational savouring involves shared experiences.
- Interventions to enhance positive affect (PA) and reduce negative affect (NA) can benefit parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and neurotypical children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the efficacy of personal and relational savouring in enhancing PA and reducing NA in mothers of neurotypical children and children with ASD.
- To examine the influence of maternal anxiety symptoms on the effectiveness of savouring interventions.
Main Methods:
- A pooled sample of 52 mothers of neurotypical children and 26 mothers of children with ASD (aged 3-7) participated.
- Participants were randomly assigned to either a relational savouring or personal savouring condition.
- Questionnaires assessed anxiety, PA, and NA before and after the intervention.
Main Results:
- Savouring significantly decreased NA (p < 0.01) but did not increase PA across both groups of mothers.
- Mothers with higher anxiety symptoms showed a greater decrease in NA (p < 0.001) compared to those with lower anxiety post-intervention.
Conclusions:
- Brief savouring interventions appear effective in reducing negative affect among mothers of preschoolers.
- Reduced negative affect is linked to improved psychological well-being and potentially warmer parenting, benefiting mother-child relationships.
- Savouring may be a valuable tool for supporting maternal mental health, particularly for mothers experiencing higher anxiety.
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