Differences in Life Transition Process of Parents Caring for Children with Autism: Based on the Socio-Demographic Characteristics

Abstract

This study was done to identify differences in the life transition process of parents caring for children with autism according to parents' socio-demographic characteristics. Methods: Participants were 194 parents caring for children with autism. Data were collected from December 2013 to February 2014 through self-report questionnaires, and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA with SPSS/WIN 20.0. Results: Mean scores for despairing or accepting phases were higher than those for denying or wandering phases in the life transition process. According to parents' gender, educational level, and job, there were some significant differences in the denying and wandering phases. Differences in denying phase by education (p = .033), job (p = .004) were significant. Respondents with higher educational level, and having a job showed a lower level of denying than other respondents. Wandering phase differed significantly by gender (p = .009) and job (p = .001). Mothers and those who did not have a job showed a higher level of wandering than fathers and those who had a job. However, there was no difference in the despairing or accepting phases. Conclusion: The life transition phase of parents with autistic children needs to be assessed to provide differentiated and intensive support program and help them move to the accepting phase.

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

“…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].…”

“…When input into a linear multiple regression analysis using ⍺=.05, medium effect size f 2 =.15, power=.95, and number of predictors=13, the minimum sample size for this study was 189. Considering the potential for a high drop-out rate [13,14], a sample size of 350 was used for this study. Surprisingly, 312 questionnaires were returned (response rate=89.1%), with 285 ultimately selected for use due to the exclusion of 27 questionnaires that had incomplete responses.…”

“…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.…”