Year

2019

Season

Spring

Paper Type

Doctoral Dissertation

College

College of Education and Human Services

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)

Department

Education

NACO controlled Corporate Body

University of North Florida. Department of Leadership, School Counseling & Sports Management

First Advisor

Dr. Daniel Dinsmore

Second Advisor

Dr. Angela Mann

Third Advisor

Dr. Matthew Ohlson

Fourth Advisor

Dr. Hope Wilson

Department Chair

Dr. Elizabeth Gregg

College Dean

Dr. Diane Yendol-Hoppey

Abstract

This quantitative study investigated the effects of an online training program in applied behavior analysis (ABA) on stress levels of parents that have a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The online ABA training program is comprised of 22 videos which take a total of 4½ hours to complete. Parenting stress levels were assessed using the Parenting Stress Inventory Short Form (PSI-SF, Abidin, 1995) and general stress levels were self-reported scores immediately before and after the training. The assessment and questionnaire were completed online immediately before the ABA training was made available and immediately after the ABA training was completed. The final PSI-SF was distributed one week after the ABA training was completed. This study confirmed that the ABA training decreased stress from the pretest to posttest but slightly increased after the delayed posttest, although delayed posttest scores remained below baseline levels. Results of the data analysis also found that general stress reduced significantly from baseline to posttests. In conclusion, the online ABA training program was an effective tool in decreasing parenting stress and general stress levels.

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