• Immaculata N Akanaeme, Felicia Ngozi Ekwealor, Clara N Ifeluni, Charity N Onyishi, Chizoba L Obikwelu, Nkiru Christiana Ohia, Loveline N Obayi, Chinyere Theresa Nwaoga, Agnes E Okafor, Vera Victor-Aigbodion, Toochukwu E Ejiofor, Ifeoma C Afiaenyi, Chinyere I Ekomaru, and Ibiwari Caroline Dike.
• Department of Educational Foundations, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2021 Nov 19; 100 (46): e27312e27312.

BackgroundJob-related stress undermines occupational, personal, and organizational outcomes. Stress symptoms are common among teachers of children with autism spectrum disorders and affect the academic progress of the children. This study investigated the effectiveness of yoga-based cognitive behavioral therapy in reducing occupational stress among teachers of children with autism in Lagos states, Nigeria.MethodsThe current study adopted a group-randomized waitlist control (WLC) trial design with pre-test, posttest, and follow-up assessments. Participants included 58 teachers of children with autism in public and private special schools in Lagos state. Participants were randomly assigned to combined cognitive behavioral therapy and yoga (Y-CBT) (N = 29) and WLC (N = 29) groups. The Y-CBT group participated in a 2 hours Y-CBT program weekly for 12 weeks. Three instruments - Demographic Questionnaire, Single-Item Stress Questionnaire, and Teachers' Stress Inventory (TSI) were used to collect data. Data were collected at baseline; posttest and follow-up evaluations. Data were analyzed using means, standard deviations, t test statistics, repeated measures analysis of variance, and bar charts.ResultsResults revealed that all dimensions of job stress (perception of stress sources, stress manifestation, and total TSI scores) reduced significantly at posttest and follow up assessments among the Y-CBT group, compared to the WLC.ConclusionIt was concluded that Y-CBT modalities could help to minimize the perception of stress sources and stress manifestation as well as total TSI scores among teachers of children with autism spectrum disorders.Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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