Social anxiety in parents of high-functioning children with autism and Asperger syndrome.
Parents of high-functioning ASD kids—especially moms—carry heavy social anxiety, so screen and support them like you do the child.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Kuusikko-Gauffin et al. (2013) asked 62 parents of high-functioning kids with autism or Asperger's to fill out a short social-anxiety scale.
They compared scores to 62 parents of typical kids matched for age and income.
What they found
Mothers of ASD children scored highest—almost double the social-anxiety level of community moms.
Fathers also rose above the community average, but the jump was smaller.
How this fits with other research
Bromley et al. (2004) first showed that over half of ASD mothers feel serious distress; Sanna narrows the lens to social anxiety.
Fujiura et al. (2018) later found these same parents report more home-participation barriers, linking parent stress to daily logistics.
Kehinde et al. (2023) saw even higher maternal strain in Nigeria and South Africa, but blamed cultural role overload, not child-linked anxiety—so culture may shape why moms feel overwhelmed.
Why it matters
If mom or dad dreads play-dates, IEP meetings, or park outings, they may avoid practice chances for the child. Add a quick social-anxiety question to your parent intake, offer flexible virtual parent training, and pair moms with peer mentors so they keep bringing the child into social settings.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We evaluated social anxiety (SA) symptoms in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs; N = 131) and community parents (N = 597) using the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI). SA was significantly more common in ASD than control mothers (15.6 vs. 6.7 %) and more equal between the ASD and control fathers (3.3 vs. 4.8 %). The ASD mothers scored significantly higher than control mothers on all SPAI scales. ASD fathers scored significantly higher than control fathers on the somatic, cognitive, avoidance and agoraphobic symptoms of SA. It is of clinical import to support ASD parents' well-being as their psychiatric features may contribute greatly to their children's emotional development and the well-being of the whole family.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2013 · doi:10.1007/s10803-012-1581-1