Parenting Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Balancing the roles of parent and partner is challenging for most people and may be especially challenging when extra time and effort are required in the parenting role. The current research compared 25 couples whose children have autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with 20 couples whose children do not have developmental disorders. Comparisons were made for both stressor (e.g., child's behavior problems) and relational (e.g., relationship satisfaction) variables. Results indicated that parents of children with ASD experienced more intense child behavior problems, greater parenting stress, and lower relationship satisfaction. In contrast, the two groups of couples did not differ on perceived spousal support, respect for their partners, and commitment. The implications of the findings of this study and other related research are discussed.

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.…”

Parenting Stress of Children with Autistic Disorder

“…Roles of parents and partners are challenging for most people especially challenging when extra time and effort are required in the parenting role [31]. Numerous studies have shown that children with autism affect the relationship between other family members.…”

“…The authors reported that attachment was negatively impacted by the severity of autistic disorder symptoms. Similarly, Brobst and colleagues [31] conducted a study to examine the relationship between the child's behavioral problems and relationship satisfaction. In this study, interviews were conducted with 25 parents of children who have autistic disorder.…”

“…It has been shown that families of children with autism have lower marital intimacy and marital satisfaction [1]. Furthermore, emotional distress contributes to marital confrontation and dissatisfaction and increases potentiality for divorce, which in turn can be affected on a child [31].…”

“…Commonly, studies have compared an overall measure of stress between parents of children with autistic disorder to those of parents of children with typical development [31]- [34] or those diagnosed with Down Syndrome, intellectual disability, and Fragile X syndrome [15] [16] [19] [35]- [38]. These studies have revealed that parents of children with autistic disorder experience higher levels of stress than parents of children with other types of disorders or disabilities.…”