The importance of parenting self-efficacy and social support for family quality of life in children newly diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder: A one-year follow-up study.
When parents feel confident and supported during the first year after an autism diagnosis, the whole family reports higher life satisfaction.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Yushen and colleagues tracked families for one year after their child was first diagnosed with autism.
They asked parents about parenting confidence, help from friends and family, and overall family life satisfaction.
The team wanted to know which parent factors best predict how satisfied families feel during the first post-diagnosis year.
What they found
Family life satisfaction improved modestly over the year.
Parents who felt more confident and who felt well-supported reported the greatest gains in satisfaction.
Confidence and support predicted satisfaction better than child traits or time alone.
How this fits with other research
Emily et al. (2015) showed that child daily-living skills drive family quality of life. The new study flips the lens: parent confidence and social support matter too.
Turk et al. (2010) and Alon (2019) already linked social support to maternal optimism and growth. Yushen et al. extend this by showing the link holds across the whole family and across a full year.
Samadi et al. (2014) found parental distress lowers quality of life. Yushen’s team adds the hopeful side: boosting confidence and support can raise it.
Why it matters
You can’t speed up child skill growth overnight, but you can strengthen parent confidence and support networks right now. Start sessions with a quick check-in: “What went well this week?” and “Who can you call for help?” Share local autism parent groups and celebrate small wins to build self-efficacy. These low-cost moves may lift the whole family’s quality of life before the next appointment.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Improving the quality of family life (FQoL) is one of the ultimate goals for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) intervention, and parenting self-efficacy and social support are critical for the well-being of families. However, longitudinal studies focusing on FQoL and its predictors for families of children with ASD are scarce. This study aims to describe the characteristics of FQoL among parents of children newly diagnosed with ASD at two waves (newly diagnosed and diagnosed after one year) and to explore the predictors of FQoL at two waves. It was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Guangzhou, China. A total of 156 parents and their children were included in Wave 1, followed up with 110 in Wave 2 after 1 year. The overall satisfaction of FQoL improved (t = -2.128, p < 0.05), while satisfaction with physical/material well-being decreased (t = 5.972, p < 0.01). Additionally, the overall importance rating of FQoL improved but did not have statistical significance (p > 0.05). Parents with higher parenting self-efficacy (β = 0.716, P < 0.01), and more subjective social support (β = 1.127, p < 0.001) reported higher satisfaction with FQoL, and those with better social support utilization (β = 1.066, p < 0.05) reported higher importance for FQoL. FQoL needs to be improved in the early stage of ASD diagnosis, and parental self-efficacy and social support can serve as the intervention targets.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2024 · doi:10.1002/aur.3061