Family quality of life and psychological well-being in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders: a double ABCX model.

Sawyer et al. (2014) used the double ABCX model to map how child behavior problems affect parents. They looked at both moms and dads of kids with autism. The team ran path analyses to see if sense of coherence acts like a bridge between tough behaviors and family quality of life.

Behavior problems did not hit family life directly. Instead, they lowered parents’ sense of coherence first. Lower coherence then cut both family quality of life and psychological well-being. Mothers and fathers showed different paths, so gender matters.

Koegel et al. (2014) is a direct replication. Same model, same year, same families. Both papers agree: stronger sense of coherence protects parents from stress.

Hall et al. (2005) is a predecessor. It first applied the double ABCX model to moms of kids with Asperger syndrome. P et al. widened the lens to both parents, showing the model still holds.

Mello et al. (2019) extends the story. They narrowed the age window to preschoolers and added child-functioning predictors. Their work says higher child skills still link to better family quality of life, backing the 2014 indirect path.

Pisula et al. (2010) seems to clash. They found no gender differences in sense of coherence, while P et al. found moms and dads travel different paths. The gap is method: Ewa compared parents of autistic kids to parents of typical kids; P et al. looked only at autism families and modeled separate mom-dad pathways.

You can’t erase every behavior problem, but you can raise parents’ sense of coherence. Start by explaining autism in clear, hopeful terms. Offer small wins they can control, like a five-minute break routine. Ask moms and dads separately what coping tools feel doable; dads may want brief data, moms may want peer talk. Add these quick coherence boosts to your parent-training goals and watch family quality of life rise.