Parental distress, marital satisfaction, and functional impairments in autistic children: A family perspective from Türkiye.
In Turkish families, mom’s stress and weak marriage predict higher parent-reported daily-life impairment in autistic 6- to young learners, regardless of autism severity.
01Research in Context
What this study did
A team in Türkiye asked 100 mothers and fathers of autistic 6- to young learners to fill out four short forms.
Mothers rated their own stress, both parents scored their marriage happiness, and together they told how much everyday life skills the child could do alone.
The researchers then looked at which parent factors, not autism severity, best predicted the child’s daily-life impairment.
What they found
Moms who felt high distress and couples who felt low marital love both said their child needed more help with dressing, eating, and homework.
Surprisingly, the child’s actual autism score on the ADOS did not add any extra prediction.
In plain words, parent mood and marriage quality, not symptom counts, colored how capable the parents thought their child was.
How this fits with other research
Yorke et al. (2018) pooled 40 studies and saw the same link: extra child behavior problems raise parent stress. Nazlı’s data now flip the arrow—parent stress also shapes the way child ability is rated.
Carr et al. (2013) tracked US families over time and found maternal stress climbs as kids enter adolescence. The Turkish snapshot shows where that climb may start: stressed moms already report more child impairment in middle childhood.
O'Dwyer et al. (2018) saw higher ADOS social and repetitive scores tied to more mom stress. Nazlı agrees stress is high, but shows it is the stress itself, not the ADOS score, that predicts parent-reported daily skills.
Why it matters
You may spend hours cutting graphs on prompt delay or vocal stereotypy, yet mom’s burnout and the parents’ cold war could still make them report “no progress.” Start sessions with a two-minute check-in on parent stress and marriage support. When impairment ratings feel inflated, pause the program and offer respite resources, couple communication tips, or a referral to family counseling. Treat the family system, not just the child, and your data will better match real gains.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study investigates the relationships between family dynamics, parental psychological distress, and functional impairment in Turkish autistic children. We recruited 100 families, including children aged 6-12 years diagnosed with autism and their parents. Autism severity was measured using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale. Parents completed validated tools, including the Brief Symptom Inventory and Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale-Parent Form, while mothers also completed the Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale and Marital Adjustment Test. Mothers reported higher functional impairment in their children (M = 0.90, SD = 0.50) than fathers (M = 0.82, SD = 0.46, p = 0.020). Maternal distress was significantly associated with greater functional impairment (β = 0.242, p = 0.028), while stronger marital relationships were linked to lower levels of impairment (β = -0.323, p = 0.001). Autism symptom severity and comorbid conditions were not significantly associated with functional impairment. These findings suggest that maternal mental health and marital satisfaction are related to functional impairments in autistic children. While fathers often have less direct caregiving roles, their supportive presence may also be important. These findings highlight the need for longitudinal studies to clarify whether reducing caregiver stress and supporting family resilience are linked to improved outcomes in autistic children.Lay AbstractRaising autistic children presents unique daily challenges for families. This study explored how family relationships and parents' mental health are linked to the daily functioning of autistic children in Türkiye. We included 100 families with children aged 6-12 years who had been diagnosed with autism. Mothers often reported more challenges in their child's daily life compared to fathers. Higher levels of maternal stress were associated with greater difficulties in children's daily functioning. In contrast, stronger and more supportive marriages were associated with fewer reported challenges. These results suggest that family dynamics and caregiver well-being are closely related to how autistic children experience daily life. Supporting parental mental health and strengthening family relationships may help promote better outcomes for autistic children and their families.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2025 · doi:10.1177/13623613251362263