Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Psychology (Ph.D.)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Lauren Moskowitz

Second Advisor

Imad Zaheer

Third Advisor

Zheng Zhou

Abstract

The overall oral health status of children with autism is significantly poorer as compared to children without autism primarily due to dental anxiety. High levels of anxiety often contribute to behavioral distress. These difficulties, coupled with deficits in communication and coping skills, result in challenging behaviors for children with autism during routine dental cleanings. Currently, there is limited research on effective treatment packages and procedures for managing dental anxiety in children with autism, and no studies have trained parents as intervention agents to treat dental anxiety in this population. In this single-case study, a parent training intervention was delivered to the mother of a child with autism to determine the effects of the intervention program on the child’s anxiety and cooperation. The mother was taught to implement evidence-based intervention practices including systematic desensitization, counterconditioning, in-vivo modeling, and positive reinforcement. She was also taught to implement choice-making, which has not been used to treat dental anxiety in youth with autism. Parent attitudes towards intervention procedures (social validity) was assessed. Results indicate that the mother’s confidence increased as well as her ability to implement treatment components. She endorsed that the intervention was feasible, acceptable, and effective. The child’s anxiety decreased and cooperation during the dental exam increased. The outcomes of this study contribute to the paucity of literature on behavioral/psychological procedures to treat fear during dental exams as well as to the nonexistent research on using parent-implemented interventions to decrease dental anxiety in youth with autism.

Download

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS