Finding meaning in parenting a child with Asperger syndrome: correlates of sense making and benefit finding.
Helping parents spot personal benefits in raising a child with Asperger syndrome predicts stronger social support and adaptive coping.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked parents of kids with Asperger syndrome to fill out surveys. They wanted to know if parents who find personal meaning in the job also feel more supported and cope better.
The study looked at three things: benefit finding, sense making, and how parents rate their own support and coping.
What they found
Parents who said, 'I can see good things that came from raising my child,' also scored high on social support, self-efficacy, and adaptive coping.
In plain words: finding a silver lining goes hand-in-hand with feeling helped and capable.
How this fits with other research
Slattery et al. (2017) repeated the idea with a wider group—any developmental disability—and got the same link: more support and positive reappraisal led to more benefit finding.
Feng et al. (2022) added a twist: social support does not just predict growth, it also boosts growth when autism symptoms are severe.
McGonigle et al. (2014) looked at Asian families and saw something different: concrete coping skills, not positive meaning, drove better family life. The studies do not clash—they just spotlight different levers you can pull.
Why it matters
When you meet parents, ask what good things they see in their child or in themselves since the diagnosis. Then link them to real supports—parent groups, respite, or couple counseling. The 2004 paper says that combo packs a punch for coping and confidence.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study explored the nature of two construals of meaning, benefit finding and sense making, in parents of a child with Asperger syndrome, and examined relations between both meaning constructs and the Double ABCX family stress model variables (initial stressor and pile-up of demands, appraisal, social support, coping strategies and adjustment) [H.I. McCubbin, J.M. Patterson, Social Stress and the Family: Advances and Developments in Family Stress Theory and Research, Haworth, New York, 1983, pp. 7-37]. A total of 59 parents completed questionnaires. Content analyses of parents' responses to questions inquiring about gains and sense making explanations revealed 8 benefit and 12 sense making themes. Results of correlations indicated that one or more of the meaning variables were related to each of the Double ABCX model predictors of parental adjustment. The meaning variables were positively related to adaptive coping processes: social support, self-efficacy, and problem-focused and emotional approach coping strategies.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2004 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2003.06.003