Mood and Emotional Changes After PEERS? Program in Parents of Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Objectives: This study examined the changes in anxiety and depressive symptoms in the parents of Korean adults with autism spec-trum disorder (ASD) after participating in the Korean version of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills for Young Adults (PEERS (R)-YA-K).Methods: Forty-six parents were enrolled (mean age 54.7 years; 22 fathers and 24 mothers), of whom 27 participated in the PEERS (R) -YA-K as social coaches. Participants completed self-report scales, including the Test of Young Adult Social Skills Knowledge (TYASSK), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Symptom Check-List-90-R (SCL-90-R). The scales were admin-istered three times: before and after the 16-week program and 4 months after the program ended. Differences between participant vari-ables at pretreatment, post-treatment, and follow-up were analyzed using paired-sample t-tests.Results: Participants showed a significant improvement in their social skills knowledge (TYASSK) (p<0.01). There was a significant im-provement in the BAI and BDI scores of parents with severe depressive and anxiety symptoms at the baseline (p<0.05). Paternal para-noia and maternal hostility results also significantly improved on the SCL-90-R.Conclusion: This study suggests that PEERS (R)-YA-K can reduce parental anxiety and depressive symptoms. To the best of our knowl-edge, this is the first to compare the degree of depression and anxiety after PEERS (R)-YA-K in parents of adults with ASD.