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

Abstract

This study explored the relations between the social support network of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), perceived social support, and their subjective wellbeing. The participants were mothers of children with ASD in Shanghai. Their social support network structure was explored via the nomination method. Perceived social support was measured using the Revised Social Provisions Scale for Autism (R-SPS-A), and the mothers’ subjective wellbeing was assessed using the Index of Wellbeing, Index of General Affect. A significant correlation was observed between the subjective wellbeing of mothers of children with ASD and perceived social support. Meanwhile, perceived social support was significantly correlated with the effectiveness of overall social support. Finally, perceived social support was also significantly correlated with the network size of social support. Moreover, the effectiveness of social support was significantly associated with the network size of social support and was highly significantly associated with the degree of intimacy of social support. Furthermore, the network size of instrumental support has a significant influence on all perceived social support subdimensions. Overall, social support effectiveness plays an important role in the social support network mechanism on perceived social support and subjective wellbeing in China.

Institutional and family support impact on health‐related quality of life of children with autism spectrum disorders during the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…Families of children with ASD have lower family functioning, a high parenting burden, and a lower quality of life, especially for mothers (Pisula & Porębowicz-Dörsmann, 2017). The well-being of mothers of children with ASD correlates significantly with perceived social support and social support networks consisting of instrumental support, information support, and emotional support (Bi et al, 2022).…”

Relationship Between Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Parent Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Quality of Life and Social Support

“…Research has been conducted on the relationship between perceived social support and a number of variables, including posttraumatic growth (Feng et al, 2022), subjective well-being (Bi et al, 2022), parental stress (McGrew & Keyes, 2014), anxiety and depression, and quality of life (Hsiao, 2016). Very little is known about the possible relationship between perceived parental social support and whether a child presents with GI symptoms or not.…”

Disentangle the elderly’s positive coping behavior in times of COVID-19: Perspectives from the social network, information acquisition, and perceived community support

“…That means social support provided by the community can directly and effectively reduce depressive and anxiety symptoms of the corresponding community residents [47], and strengthening the public's perceived social support can indeed effectively alleviate people's anxiety and promote their well-being [48]. Many studies have found a close relationship between the social network and perceived social support, such as perceived community support [49,50,51]. The better the social network of the elderly, the more they can perceive the support of the community to obtain better subjective well-being; On the contrary, those who do not have close social network relationships with their families or friends, and those who rely only on the support of voluntary services or social care, are faced with additional risk [52,53].…”