Parental adjustment, marital relationship, and family function in families of children with autism

Couple relationships among parents of children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Findings from a scoping review of the literature

“…For example, three studies discovered that parental gender did not have a significant effect on marital satisfaction scores among parents (Alessandri, 1992;Shakhmalian, 2005;Civick, 2008). However, Lee (2009) found lower marital adjustment scores among fathers than mothers; and Gau et al (2012) noted that the degree of satisfaction felt with the marital partner is lower among mothers than fathers. Harper et al (2013) found that maternal daily stresses negatively impact paternal reports of relationship quality, although the reverse was not seen.…”

“…The most common quantitative measures of relationship quality were measures of marital satisfaction or marital adjustment. Ten articles discovered parents of children with ASD reported lower relationship satisfaction and adjustment when compared to either scale norms (Higgins, Bailey, & Pearce, 2005;Perry, Sarlo-McGarvey, & Factor, 1992;Shakhmalian, 2005;Stoddart, 2003), or parents of typically developing children (Brobst et al, 2009;Gau et al, 2012;Knapp, 2004;Lee, 2009;Rodrigue et al, 1990;Santamaria, Cuzzocrea, Gugliandolo, & Larcan, 2012). In contrast, four studies showed no significant differences in marital satisfaction or adjustment scores when comparing parents of children with ASD to scale norms or parents of children without ASD (Alessandri, 1992 Alessandri (1992) noted that more parents in the ASD group were in the ''at risk'' range of marital adjustment scores.…”

Parent and Family Outcomes of PEERS: A Social Skills Intervention for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…The increased chaos seen in families of children with ASD may also contribute to increased parental conflict and decreased marital satisfaction seen in these families (Brobst et al 2009;Gau et al 2011;Harper et al 2013;Hartley et al 2011). The presence of emotional strain and relationship difficulties likely make it more difficult for children with ASD to learn appropriate social behaviors, as more maladaptive interactions are modeled by caregivers who are frequently engaged in conflict.…”

‘You are labelled by your children’s disability’ – A community-based, participatory study of stigma among Somali parents of children with autism living in the United Kingdom

“…High levels of stress (Ericzon, Frazee, and Stahmer 2005) and depression (Zablotsky, Anderson, and Law 2013) and poor quality of life (Shu 2009;Yamada et al 2012) have been reported among parents of children with autism, with mothers particularly affected (Gau et al 2012). Despite the increased burden of severe forms of autism, there is limited evidence on the experiences of parents from migrant Somali populations.…”