Psychological inflexibility and adherence to the therapy among parents of autistic

The parenting strategies applied to address the developmental demands of children with autism generate emotional difficulties, affect the emission of behaviors related to their children’s psychological processes, and consequently influence therapeutic adherence. This study aimed to determine the relationships among the different processes of psychological inflexibility and therapeutic adherence among parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The sample consisted of 25 parents between 30 and 60 years old (M = 40) of children diagnosed with ASD who were undergoing behavioral modification therapy. A sociodemographic data survey, the Therapeutic Adherence Scale, the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ), the Valuing Questionnaire (VQ), and the Experiential Avoidance Scale (AAQ-II) were administered. For the analysis, a retrospective simple group ex post facto design was used. The structural equation analyses revealed that parents show patterns of psychological inflexibility, which in turn affect the behaviors related to treatment adherence.