Sense making and benefit finding in couples who have a child with Asperger syndrome: an application of the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model.
When one parent makes clear sense of the Asperger label, both parents feel better, so coach couples toward shared meaning before hunting for silver linings.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Kirchner et al. (2012) asked 115 couples raising a child with Asperger syndrome how they made sense of the diagnosis. They also asked what good things, if any, the parents saw coming from the experience. The team used a tool called the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model. It lets you see how one partner's thoughts shape both partners' feelings.
What they found
Parents who said 'I see benefits here' also reported more anxiety. That sounds odd, but it fits: searching for silver linings can feel stressful. When either parent reached a clear 'This diagnosis makes sense' view, both partners felt calmer and more adjusted. The partner effect was strong: one parent's sense-making lifted the other's mood.
How this fits with other research
Fujiura et al. (2018) extend these findings. They show parents of high-functioning kids still face daily home barriers even after making sense of the label. Sense-making helps emotions; real-world tweaks help routines.
Kuusikko-Gauffin et al. (2013) look at the same families and find high social anxiety in both moms and dads. Christina's study adds that meaning-making can buffer that anxiety, while benefit-finding may stir it.
Bromley et al. (2004) surveyed mothers eight years earlier and found over half in serious distress. Christina updates the picture: when dads also make sense of the diagnosis, mom's distress drops.
Why it matters
You can turn these results into a quick team exercise. After sharing the diagnosis, ask each parent separately to tell the story of how the label fits their child. Then bring them together and compare stories. When gaps show up, guide them toward a shared, coherent narrative. Skip the 'look on the bright side' talk for now; focus on clarity first. One parent's clear story lifts the whole couple's emotional baseline.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add a 10-minute 'story compare' to your parent meeting: have each parent tell the child's diagnosis story aloud, then guide them to merge the two into one coherent timeline.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Parents of children with Asperger syndrome face many challenges that may lead them to search for meaning by developing explanations for (sense making) and finding benefits (benefit finding) in having a child with special needs. Although family theorists have proposed that finding meaning occurs interpersonally, there is a dearth of empirical research that has examined finding meaning at the couple level. This study examined sense making and benefit finding in 84 couples who have a child with Asperger syndrome by using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (Kenny et al., 2006) to examine actor effects (i.e. the extent to which an individual's score on the predictor variable impacts his or her own level of adjustment) and partner effects (i.e. the extent to which an individual's score on the predictor variable has an impact on his or her partner's level of adjustment) of sense making and benefit finding on parental adjustment. Results demonstrated that parents' benefit finding related to greater anxiety and parents' sense making related to not only their own adjustment but also their partner's adjustment. Results highlight the importance of adopting an interpersonal perspective on finding meaning and adjustment. Limitations, future research and clinical implications are also discussed.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2012 · doi:10.1177/1362361311418691