A preliminary exploration of different coping strategies used by Korean immigrant parents of autistic children in high versus low family quality of life ratings

Abstract

The experiences of coping in parents of autistic children have been extensively studied in the literature. While this research has identified both effective and ineffective coping strategies used by caregivers, no studies to date have examined how coping strategies used by parents might be linked to family quality of life outcomes. Furthermore, few studies exist examining both coping strategies and family quality of life in culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Thus, this study aimed to address both limitations. A total of 12 Korean immigrant parents of autistic children, 6 representing the high family quality of life group and 6 representing the low family quality of life group, shared their experiences related to coping and managing stress. Responses fell under three broad categories (problem-focused, emotion-focused, and adjustment-focused) with differences observed when comparing the high versus low family quality of life groups. A better understanding of the link between coping strategies and family quality of life outcomes may help identify effective and culturally sensitive supports for caregivers and families to improve their quality of life and well-being. Lay abstract The experiences of coping in parents of autistic children have been extensively studied in the literature. While this research has identified both effective and ineffective coping strategies used by caregivers, no studies to date have examined how coping strategies used by parents might be linked to family quality of life outcomes. Furthermore, few studies exist examining both coping strategies and family quality of life in culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Thus, this study aimed to address both limitations. A total of 12 Korean immigrant parents of autistic children, 6 representing the high family quality of life group and 6 representing the low family quality of life group, shared their experiences related to coping and managing stress. Responses fell under three broad categories (problem-focused, emotion-focused, and adjustment-focused) with differences observed when comparing the high versus low family quality of life groups. A better understanding of the link between coping strategies and family quality of life outcomes may help identify effective and culturally sensitive supports for caregivers and families to improve their quality of life and well-being.

Service access experiences of immigrant and refugee caregivers of autistic children in Canada: A scoping review

“…Fifteen studies used qualitative methodologies [18-21, 31, 32, 34, 37, 42, 43, 45, 48-51], five used quantitative methodologies [36,[39][40][41]52], and eight used mixed methods [17,30,33,35,38,44,46,47]. In-depth interviewing was the qualitative method used in 13 studies [17-21, 31, 35, 42-45, 49, 51].…”

“…Other methods used included field notes, focus groups, and critical personal narratives. Data were gathered in English in 18 studies [19, 21, 31-35, 39, 41-50], French in 10 studies [21, 30, 40-43, 45-47, 49], Spanish in five studies [21,42,43,47,49], Chinese dialect in three studies [20,50,51], Portuguese in two studies [42,43], Korean in two studies [32,33],…”

“…Provincial study locations within Canada included 11 from Ontario [18,19,31,36,38,39,[48][49][50][51][52], nine from Quebec [17,21,30,[40][41][42][45][46][47], six from British Columbia [20,[32][33][34][35]37], one from Alberta [35], and one did not specify [44]. Some studies specified regions within provinces, including eight within the Greater Toronto Area [18,19,31,36,38,48,49,51], and seven in the Montreal area [21,[41][42][43][45][46][47].…”

“…A full breakdown of the included studies' aims can be found in Table 1. [17,19,30,32,33,35,38,41,[45][46][47][48][49]51]. This included difficulty accessing transportation to services [19,33,35,47,49,51], long waitlists [19,30,32,38,45,49,51], the disbursement and fragmentation of services [19,51], and acquiring information on service locations and availability [19,33,35,38,45,49,51].…”

“…[17,19,30,32,33,35,38,41,[45][46][47][48][49]51]. This included difficulty accessing transportation to services [19,33,35,47,49,51], long waitlists [19,30,32,38,45,49,51], the disbursement and fragmentation of services [19,51], and acquiring information on service locations and availability [19,33,35,38,45,49,51]. While waiting for services for their child, the immigrant participants in Millau and colleagues' study accessed less external support than the Canadian-born participants, largely because the Canadian caregivers had more contacts and knowledge about available services [41].…”