Coping strategies as mediators of internalizing symptoms on quality of life in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder and typical development.
Standard problem-solving coping lessons do not protect quality of life for autistic students—give them pre-built plans instead.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked 9- to 11-year-old kids with and without autism how they cope with worry. They also measured worry levels and quality-of-life scores.
Kids filled out simple picture-based surveys. Researchers then checked if the way a child coped changed the link between worry and life quality.
What they found
Typical kids who used problem-solving coping kept a high quality of life even when they felt anxious. Autistic kids did not get this same lift.
Palliative coping (doing something fun to feel better) gave autistic kids a quick break, but it did not raise their overall life-quality scores.
How this fits with other research
Alderson-Day (2011) showed autistic children can pick good questions yet still fail to build a clear plan. Maryniak et al. (2025) now show this planning gap wipes out the usual benefit of problem-solving coping.
Leung et al. (2014) found lab tests of flexibility rarely flag autism; together the two papers hint that paper-and-pencil coping lessons miss the real-world planning hurdle these kids face.
Ferguson et al. (2020) mapped five quality-of-life profiles in the same age group. The new study adds that coping style is one reason kids land in the lower profiles.
Why it matters
If you run a social-skills or anxiety group, drop the generic “make a plan” worksheets. Replace them with visual planners, choice boards, and rehearsal with adult prompts. These supports give the child a ready-made plan instead of asking them to create one from scratch.
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Join Free →Hand the student a laminated four-step visual plan before the next anxiety trigger task; model each step instead of asking the child to invent them.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often report lower quality of life (QoL) than their typically developing peers, yet the coping processes that underlie these differences remain unclear. AIMS: This study investigated which coping styles mediate the impact of internalizing symptoms (depression, anxiety, anger control difficulties) on children's self-reported QoL and whether these pathways differ between ASD and typically developing groups. METHODS: A total of 172 school-aged children (80 ASD and 92 typically developing) completed standardized measures of QoL, internalizing symptoms, and four coping styles. Moderated mediation analyses tested coping as parallel mediators and diagnostic group as a moderator. RESULTS: Across both groups, higher internalizing symptoms were linked to poorer QoL. Problem-solving coping emerged as a protective mediator in typically developing children only, while other coping styles did not mediate symptom-QoL links in either group. CONCLUSIONS: Problem-focused coping supports QoL in typically developing youth but appears less effective in ASD. Children with ASD derived immediate relief from palliative strategies (e.g., structured calming techniques), yet these strategies did not attenuate the negative impact of internal distress on their broader day-to-day well-being. Interventions that adapt problem-solving strategies to the needs of children with ASD may enhance their well-being.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2025 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2025.105083