The relationship between parental involvement and psychological adjustment among Chinese children with autism spectrum disorder in the transition from kindergarten to primary school: A chain-mediating model

Abstract

IntroductionThis study examined the impact of parental involvement on the psychological adjustment of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and the role of parenting self-efficacy and parenting stress in the transition from kindergarten to primary school.MethodsUsing the questionnaires, we collected data from 237 Chinese parents of children with ASD.ResultsMediation analyses showed that parental involvement partially promoted the psychological adjustment of children with ASD, which was reflected in the fact that parental involvement promoted children’s prosocial behavior but did not reduce their emotional/behavioral problems. Mediation analyses also revealed the role of the mediator in parenting stress between parental involvement and the psychological adjustment of children. Additionally, the results suggested that parenting self-efficacy and parenting stress played a chain-mediating role in the association between parental involvement and psychological adjustment in children with ASD.DiscussionThese findings enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the relationship between parental involvement and psychological adjustment in children with ASD in the transition from kindergarten to primary school.

Family Socioeconomic Status and Parental Involvement in Chinese Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Moderated Mediation Model

“…According to Hoover-Dempsey et al's (2005) family involvement model [31], parenting stress is identified as an adverse psychological factor hindering parents' involvement in children's education. Other research has also indicated that the high level of stress associated with raising a child with severe behavioral challenges could lead to parents' low level of self-efficacy, which in turn, discourages them from actively engaging in children's educational activities [13,32]. Similarly, the parenting stress of raising a child with ASD has been identified as a factor associated with the negative long-term outcome of parental involvement, such as less parent-child interaction and low frequency of home-school communication [8,33].…”

“…However, such a significant difference was not observed when children displayed severe behavioral problems. Semke et al (2010) found that reducing parenting stress for parents of children with severe disruptive behaviors alone failed to significantly increase their parental involvement [32]; this is due to the parents' low self-efficacy in their ability to help children achieve educational pursuits. In addition, mothers who experienced high stress levels from taking care of children with ASD rated their children's behavioral problems as more severe than those who experienced less parenting stress [44].…”

The role of parental involvement in the development of prosocial behavior in young children: an evolutionary model among Colombian families

“…According to Piotrowska et al (2017), this dimension consists of "paying attention, being receptive and open to new ways of interacting with children, actively contributing to discussions and tasks, completing homework tasks or asking questions" (p. 150). Studies have explored the relationship between parental involvement and positive children's outcomes, such as academic achievement (Boonk et al, 2018;Lara & Saracostti, 2019) and psychological adjustment (Hou et al, 2023). Therefore, parental involvement may constitute a protective factor for children's mental health in the Colombian context in which several risk factors are presented, including poverty, exposure to violence and war-related experiences, low parental educational levels, and negative parenting (Gómez-Restrepo et al, 2016).…”