Parental stress, involvement, and family quality of life in mothers and fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder in mainland China: A dyadic analysis.
In Chinese families of children with ASD, a father’s stress can lower the mother’s quality of life and both parents’ involvement.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Wang et al. (2020) asked both moms and dads of children with autism in mainland China to fill out surveys.
They wanted to see how each parent’s stress level shaped their own and their partner’s involvement and family happiness.
The team used a dyadic approach, meaning they looked at how one parent’s feelings spill over to the other.
What they found
When either parent felt more stress, both parents got less involved and rated family life as worse.
Fathers’ stress had an extra punch: it also dragged down mothers’ quality of life, even when moms themselves were calm.
The study shows dads matter in Chinese families—what they feel echoes through the whole household.
How this fits with other research
Franke et al. (2026) extends these results by showing that boosting family support lifts quality of life by lowering stress, giving teams a clear lever to pull.
Wang et al. (2022) adds another layer: parents who practice mindfulness feel less stress and enjoy better family life, pointing to a skill you can teach.
Rivard et al. (2014) first noticed that fathers of autistic kids often report higher stress than mothers; the 2020 paper now shows this paternal stress can directly hurt the whole family system.
Why it matters
If you work with Chinese families, screen both parents, not just the main caregiver. When dad’s stress is high, mom’s happiness and both parents’ involvement drop. Offer mindfulness groups, couple sessions, or link the family to grandparent or friend support—simple moves that can break the stress cycle before it spreads.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Research shows that parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are burdened with childcare responsibilities and at increased risk for elevated stress and poor family quality of life (FQOL). Little is known, however, about the dynamic interactions between mothers' and fathers' perceived parenting stress in relating to parental involvement and FQOL, especially in the Chinese cultural context. AIMS: This study examined the intrapersonal and interpersonal effects of parenting stress on parental involvement and FQOL for families of children with ASD in mainland China. METHOD: A total of 210 Chinese couples (total N = 420) completed measures of caregiving involvement, perceived parenting stress, and FQOL. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model (APIMeM) was employed to examine the dyadic relationships among the variables. RESULTS: Both parents' parenting stress was negatively associated with their own involvement and FQOL. Moreover, fathers' parenting stress was indirectly related to mothers' perceptions of FQOL through their involvement in the care of their child with ASD. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the important roles of fathers' parenting stress and involvement in affecting their own and their partners' satisfaction with FQOL within Chinese families raising a child with ASD.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2020 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103791