Parental stress and dyadic adjustment among parents of children with ASD: Moderating effects of dyadic coping and perceived social support.
Teaching parents to talk stress out and lean on each other—and on friends—can shield their marriage from autism-related pressure.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Fallahchai et al. (2022) asked parents of children with autism to fill out online surveys. They wanted to know how child behavior problems affect the couple's relationship.
The team also tested whether talking about stress, coping as a pair, and outside help softened that blow.
What they found
More behavior problems raised parent stress. Higher stress then hurt how well the couple got along.
When parents shared stress, coped together, and felt supported by friends or family, the damage was smaller.
How this fits with other research
Lu et al. (2021) extends these results. They show support boosts parent resilience and self-efficacy, which then lowers child behavior problems.
Lovell et al. (2012) is a predecessor that adds biology. Support improved cortisol patterns and cut health complaints in autism and ADHD parents.
Boudreau et al. (2015) seems to contradict. Coping skills did not help fathers feel better. The difference: Reza looked at couple-level coping, not solo skills.
Why it matters
You can protect the couple relationship without fixing every autism behavior first. Teach parents to name stress out loud, plan together, and line up friends, relatives, or parent groups. One quick step: add a five-minute 'stress check' at the end of each parent training session.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Previous studies examining the association between child behavior problems and parental stress have reported mixed results. AIM: This study aimed to explore the associations between child behavior problems and parental stress as well as parental stress and dyadic adjustment, and the moderating roles of stress communication, perceived partner supportive dyadic coping, and perceived social support in the relationship between parental stress and dyadic adjustment. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Data were derived from 233 parents with at least one child with ASD from Iran. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: The results demonstrated that child behavior problems were positively associated with parental stress whereas parental stress was negatively associated with dyadic adjustment. Furthermore, stress communication, perceived partner supportive dyadic coping, and perceived social support moderated the relationship between parental stress and dyadic adjustment. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings may attract the attention of clinicians and professionals who work with parents of children with ASD on the effect of stress and how to manage stress on these parents' dyadic adjustment.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2022 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104192