Development of a Scale to Measure Life Transition Process in Parents of Children with Autism

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to develop a scale to measure the life transition process of parents of children with autism, against the backdrop of a lack of research on this topic. Methods: Seventy preliminary items were drawn from previous qualitative research, and content validity was tested by three professors as well as three parents of children with autism. A questionnaire survey was also done between August 2011 and February 2012. Data were collected from 207 parents of children with autism and analyzed using descriptive statistics, item analysis, Cronbach's alpha, Pearson correlation coefficients, and factor analysis with the SPSS Win 15.0 program. Results: Twenty-nine items were selected to constitute the appropriate measuring scale and categorized into 5 factors explaining 63.2% of the total variance. The 5 factors were named; stages of denial (5 items), wandering (6 items), devotion (7 items), frustration (3 items), and finally acceptance (8 items). Cronbach's alpha for the 29 items was .80. Conclusion: The results of this study not only suggest assessment criteria for the life transition process of parents who have children with autism but also provide basic directions for program development to provide differentiated support and care at each stage.

Life Transition Process Effects on Depressive Symptoms in Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Differences in depression level by socio-demographic characteristics were analyzed using ttests and one-way analysis of variance with a Scheffé post-hoc test for group comparisons. To examine the relationship between the LTP and depressive symptoms, Pearson correlation coefficients were computed; and a hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify factors influencing for depressive symptoms in parents, in which children's general characteristics, including age, gender, and disability level, were entered in the first step, followed by parents' characteristics (age, gender, education, employment, religion, and household income) in the second step, with the parents' LTP being the final component added [12][13][14]19].…”

“…In the wandering phase, mothers experience high levels of stress, guilt, and self-blame. The despair phase is the stage of exhaustion, whereas in the accepting phase mothers reorganize their lives as mothers who are rearing children with ASD [12,13]. Notably, there was no difference in the despair or acceptance phases between mothers and fathers [14].…”

“…Parents were asked to indicate their age, gender, education, employment, religion, and household income, as well as their child's age, gender, and disability level [12][13][14]18].…”

“…Meleis et al [10] further suggested that health and illness challenges involve a process of transition that also increases parents' vulnerability to poor health. In this regard, a series of studies by Lee et al [11][12][13][14] investigated how mothers of children with autism experienced life transitions, and suggested differentiated support and care at each stage. Mothers who have children with ASD experienced five phases of the Life Transition Process (LTP): denying, wandering, devoting, mind controlling, and accepting [11].…”

“…Although the series of studies by Lee et al [11][12][13][14] shed light on how parents of children with autism experienced life transitions, there is little empirical evidence for how such transitional experiences influence parental psychological functioning or suggestions regarding the support and care needed for each phase of the LTP. Specifically, parents of children with ASD have a high risk of depression, yet few studies have addressed whether their symptoms change during the transitional process of caring for children with ASD.…”