Religiosity/Spirituality and Mental Health Outcomes in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Mediating Role of Positive Thinking.
When moms of autistic kids focus on spiritual or positive views of their child, their own anxiety drops.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Williams et al. (2019) asked moms of autistic kids to fill out a survey. They wanted to know if faith or spiritual views helped moms feel calmer.
The team tested a simple chain: more spirituality → more positive thoughts about the child → less mom anxiety.
What they found
Moms who rated their spirituality higher also saw more good things their child brings to the family. That brighter view was linked to lower anxiety scores.
How this fits with other research
Jones et al. (2014) ran a similar survey and found mindfulness and acceptance also buffered mom anxiety. Together the studies show two paths—spiritual thinking and mindful thinking—both protect moms.
Koç et al. (2026) looked at the flip side: psychological inflexibility raised emotional reactivity and burnout. Williams et al. (2019) now shows the opposite—positive spiritual thinking can lower anxiety—so the two papers line up like mirror images.
Huang et al. (2014) saw caregiver stress drop when autism traits were mild to moderate, not severe. V et al. add a new layer: mom’s own mindset, not just child severity, shapes her mental health.
Why it matters
You can’t prescribe faith, but you can spotlight positives. Ask mom to share one thing her child taught the family this week. That tiny shift may chip away at anxiety the same way spirituality did in the study.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study examines associations between dimensions of religiosity/spirituality (R/S) and anxiety symptoms in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Mothers' positive ways of thinking and romantic relationship satisfaction were examined as mediators of associations. The extent to which child ASD symptom severity and maternal broad autism phenotype (BAP) behaviors predicted interactions with religious community members was also examined. Seventy-three Christian mothers of a child with ASD completed online surveys. Higher levels of spirituality were associated with viewing their child with ASD as providing a positive contribution to the family. These positive views were, in turn, associated with less anxiety symptoms. Mothers of children with more severe ASD symptoms also reported greater negative interactions with members of their congregation.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2019 · doi:10.1007/s10803-019-04165-z