From child autistic symptoms to parental affective symptoms: A family process model
| Autor: | Kevin Ka Shing Chan, Chun Bun Lam, Ryan Yat Ming Cheung, Naska Chung Wa Law |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male Parents Adolescent Family Conflict Autism Spectrum Disorder media_common.quotation_subject Anxiety Affect (psychology) Structural equation modeling 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Surveys and Questionnaires Intervention (counseling) Developmental and Educational Psychology medicine Humans 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Affective Symptoms Autistic Disorder Child media_common Parenting Depression 05 social sciences Middle Aged medicine.disease Mental health Clinical Psychology Distress Cross-Sectional Studies Autism spectrum disorder Child Preschool Hong Kong Female Worry medicine.symptom Psychology Stress Psychological 030217 neurology & neurosurgery 050104 developmental & child psychology Clinical psychology |
| Zdroj: | Research in Developmental Disabilities. 75:22-31 |
| ISSN: | 0891-4222 |
| Popis: | Background Depression and anxiety are prevalent among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but limited research has investigated why parenting a child with ASD is associated with elevated distress and increased risks of mental health problems. We responded to this gap in the literature by examining the associations between child autistic symptoms and parental affective symptoms, as well as the potential underlying mechanisms. Guided by a family process theory, we hypothesized that child autistic symptoms would be positively associated with parental depressive and anxiety symptoms, and that these associations would be mediated by parents’ concerns about their children’s characteristics (future-related worry), parental roles (parenting stress), marital relationships (marital conflicts), and family conditions (family economic pressure). Methods Cross-sectional questionnaire data were collected from 375 parents of children with ASD residing in Hong Kong, China. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Results Child autistic symptoms were positively associated with parental depressive and anxiety symptoms. These associations were mediated by future-related worry, parenting stress, marital conflicts, and family economic pressure. Conclusions Our findings revealed the potential pathways through which child autism symptomatology may adversely affect parental mental health. Our findings also highlighted the importance of designing multipronged intervention programs for families raising children with ASD in order to improve relevant family processes and reduce parental affective symptoms. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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