Marital satisfaction of Chinese mothers of children with autism and intellectual disabilities in Hong Kong.

Koegel et al. (2014) asked Chinese mothers of preschoolers with autism or intellectual disability to fill out surveys. The team wanted to know if feeling stigmatized hurts marital happiness, and whether caregiving burden sits in the middle of that link.

They looked at three kinds of burden: time, money, and social-emotional. All data came from mothers living in Hong Kong.

Mothers who felt more stigma also felt less happy in their marriage. The reason was the burden they carried, especially the social and emotional load of raising their child.

When burden went up, marital satisfaction went down. Stigma did its damage mainly through this burden pathway, not by itself.

Chan et al. (2021) extend the same idea. They show that more severe child autism traits raise parenting stress and coparenting fights, which then lower marital love. Both papers agree: child needs shape couple happiness through parent stress, not directly.

Yan et al. (2022) flip the lens. They find that family and friend support boosts parent involvement by lowering stress. L et al. show what drags couples down; Tingrui shows what lifts them up. The two studies fit like puzzle pieces.

Brennan et al. (2025) conceptually replicate the pathway in a Western sample. Emotional support from friends or relatives predicted relationship satisfaction, echoing the burden-satisfaction link L et al. found in Chinese mothers.

When you meet Hong Kong Chinese mothers, ask about felt stigma and daily burden, not just autism severity. If mom says she feels judged at the market or has no time for herself, marital strain is likely next. Offer small, concrete supports: a short respite voucher, a parent circle run by the center, or a chore chart that frees up 30 minutes for the couple. Lower the social-emotional burden first; marital warmth can rebound quickly.