Depressive symptoms of autism spectrum disorder children’s siblings in Greece: Associations with parental anxiety and social support

Abstract

Previous research has shown elevated levels of depressive symptoms in typically developing siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders. The current study investigates for associations between the depressive symptoms of school-aged typically developing siblings of children with autism and parental mental health, perceived social support as well as demographic factors. Eighty-five Greek typically developing siblings of autistic children and their parents provided information concerning children’s depressive symptoms (assessed with the Children’s Depression Inventory), demographics, parent mental health status (assessed with the General Health Questionnaire-28), and perceived social support (assessed with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support). Typically developing siblings showed higher levels of depressive symptoms compared to normative data. The hierarchical multiple regressions performed showed that typically developing siblings’ depressive symptoms were significantly associated with parental anxiety and perceived social support from the family. Of note, parental anxiety remained associated with typically developing siblings’ depressive symptoms independent of perceived social support. These findings demonstrate a direct link between typically developing siblings’ psychopathological symptoms and those of their parents and highlight the need for family-centered interventions, not limited to providing social support. Lay abstract Typically developing siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders are often found to exhibit elevated levels of stress and depressive symptoms compared to siblings of typically developing children or siblings of children with other disabilities. Besides the behavioral problems of the child with autism and certain demographic characteristics that have been recognized as factors associated with typically developing siblings’ psychological distress, the role of parental mental health and the social support from the family has not been studied sufficiently. The goal of this study is to assess depressive symptoms in 85 Greek school-aged typically developing siblings of children with autism and to investigate for any associations between siblings’ depressive symptoms on one hand and demographics, parental mental health, and perceived social support on the other hand. It was found that typically developing siblings had higher levels of depressive symptoms compared to children from a general population sample. In addition, parental anxiety and social support from the family as perceived by the parents themselves were identified as independently associated with typically developing siblings’ depressive symptoms. Of note, perceived social support failed to attenuate the association between parental anxiety and siblings’ depressive symptoms. These results highlight the importance of assessing both parental and typically developing siblings’ psychological state to implement interventions addressed to the needs of all family members.

Symptom severity and posttraumatic growth in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder: The moderating role of social support

“…The effects of children's symptom severity on parents' psychological growth depend on interacting factors, including individual characteristics, family characteristics (e.g., income and family function) and the external environment (e.g., social support). When perceiving a high level of social support, parents are prone to experience less caregiver stress, fewer sleep and emotional problems, and better life satisfaction and quality of life, which may weaken the detrimental effect of symptom severity on PTG and achieve relatively high PTG levels (Bishop‐Fitzpatrick et al, 2018; Koukouriki et al, 2020; Mello et al, 2021; Shepherd et al, 2018). With low social support, parents would achieve relatively low PTG levels by successfully addressing children's symptom problems by themselves.…”

Influence of Social Support Network and Perceived Social Support on the Subjective Wellbeing of Mothers of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…In turn, the poor health of mothers of children with ASD affects both the development of these children and balance within the family system ( Karst and Van Hecke, 2012 ). Many studies have suggested the importance of social support to the physical and mental health of mothers of children with ASD ( Lu et al, 2015 ; Xavier and Wesley, 2018 ; Zhao et al, 2021 ); such perceived social support helps alleviate their stress, anxiety, depression, and other negative psychological conditions ( Chen S. D. et al, 2021 ; Koukouriki et al, 2021 ; Scheerer et al, 2021 ) and facilitates the enhancement of their parenting competence and the improvement of their wellbeing ( Iadarola et al, 2017 ; Green et al, 2021 ; Khusaifan and El Keshky, 2021 ). Meanwhile, the less social support felt by mothers of children with ASD, the more they suffer from psychological problems such as anxiety and depression ( Smith et al, 2011 ; Huang et al, 2019 ; Bujnowska et al, 2021 ).…”