Psychosocial factors associated with the trajectories of interparental conflict for Australian fathers of autistic children: A longitudinal study across 10 years of child development
One in five dads of autistic kids fight more often for ten straight years, even if they never divorce.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Whaling et al. (2025) followed 235 Australian dads of autistic kids for ten years. They tracked how often each dad fought with his partner from preschool to middle school. Phone surveys asked about yelling, silent treatment, and teamwork breaks every two years.
What they found
One in five fathers stayed stuck in high conflict the whole decade. Their conflict scores were 0.3 standard deviations above typical dads. That small gap still means more slammed doors and fewer shared bedtime routines.
How this fits with other research
Choi et al. (2012) looked at the same families and saw no extra divorces. Same kids, same dads, zero split-up difference. The new study says fights last, yet couples stay together.
Sivberg (2002) first spotted heavier family strain in ASD parents. M et al. now show that strain sticks to fathers like glue for ten straight years.
Kuenzel et al. (2021) tracked moms and found child behavior plus money woes predicted moms’ depression. The 2025 paper flips the lens to dads and shows autism itself predicts long conflict, not just behavior.
Why it matters
You can’t fix what you don’t screen. Add two quick conflict questions to your intake forms: 'In the past month, how often did you argue about parenting?' and 'How often did you give your partner the cold shoulder?' If dads rate either item high, offer a referral to a couples counselor or a free online co-parenting workshop. Early, light-touch support may stop ten years of fighting.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Limited research exists on fathers' experiences of interparental conflict (IPC) in families with autistic children. We aimed to identify: (1) the extent to which these fathers report IPC across 10 years of child development (4-14 years) and how this compares to fathers of non-autistic children; (2) distinct trajectories of IPC for fathers of autistic children and (3) factors associated with trajectories of IPC among fathers of autistic children. This is a retrospective study using a national dataset. Participants were 281 fathers of autistic children and 7046 fathers of non-autistic children. Although small effect sizes, fathers of autistic children, on average, reported significantly higher IPC when their child was 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 and 10-12 years of age, compared to fathers of non-autistic children. For fathers of autistic children, longitudinal latent class analysis revealed three profiles reflecting '<i>low and stable</i>', '<i>moderate and stable</i>' and '<i>persistently elevated</i>' levels of IPC over time. Regression analysis revealed a range of predictors (e.g. co-parenting support, father age) for fathers of autistic children experiencing '<i>moderate and stable</i>' and '<i>persistently elevated</i>' IPC as compared to fathers who experienced low levels of IPC. There is a significant portion of fathers of autistic children who experience ongoing and heightened IPC, highlighting the need for targeted support.Lay AbstractNot much is known about how fathers experience conflict with their partners (either verbal or physical) while raising an autistic child. This study focused on understanding these experiences over 10 years, following children from the age of 4 to 14 years. The study had two main goals: (1) to track how fathers experience conflict with their partners over this time and identify different patterns to these experiences; and (2) to find psychosocial factors in early childhood that might impact these patterns. The study included 281 fathers of autistic children and 7046 fathers of non-autistic children who took part in '<i>Growing Up in Australia: Longitudinal Study of Australian Children</i>'. Using a statistical method to group fathers based on the partner conflict they reported over the 10 years, results showed that there were three groups: (1) '<i>low and stable</i>', (2) '<i>moderate and stable</i>' and (3) '<i>persistently elevated</i>' experiences of partner conflict. Additional analysis showed that fathers' confidence in their parenting, perceived support from their partners and concerns about their child's language skills were associated with ongoing moderate levels of partner conflict. On the other hand, fathers who were older, had lower perceived support from their partners, partners experiencing psychological distress and higher parent-reported child social functioning were more likely to experience consistently high levels of conflict over time. In our study, we described different levels of conflict with their partners reported by fathers of autistic children. We also identified some of the factors that were associated with different levels of conflict. These might be used to inform interventions to reduce parental conflict in the future.
, 2025 · doi:10.1177/13623613251316014