Parental stress, family quality of life, and family-teacher partnerships: Families of children with autism spectrum disorder.
Strong family-teacher teamwork lifts family quality of life first, and that good feeling then lowers parent stress.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked 236 parents of children with autism to fill out three short surveys. One measured stress, one measured family quality of life, and one rated how well they work with teachers.
The researchers used a computer model to see if stronger family-teacher links lower stress directly or if they first lift family life, which then lowers stress.
What they found
Good family-teacher partnerships did not cut stress right away. Instead, they raised family quality of life first.
Higher family quality of life then pulled parental stress down. In short, the partnership helps families feel better, and that better feeling lowers stress.
How this fits with other research
Sofronoff et al. (2002) showed that teaching parents new skills lifts their confidence and lowers child problems. Hsiao et al. (2017) move the spotlight from teaching parents to teaming with teachers; both actions help families, just through different paths.
Yakubova et al. (2021) had parents make and run their own video lessons at home. That study shows parents can drive change alone, while Yun-Ju et al. show teachers and parents together also create change. The two papers sit side-by-side: one parent-led, one team-led.
Boxum et al. (2018) built a short survey that tracks the same stress and family life factors. Their tool gives you a quick way to check if your own partnership work is moving the needle.
Why it matters
You can lower parent stress without adding extra parent training sessions. Simply build real teamwork with teachers: share goals, celebrate small wins, and meet often. Track family quality of life with a brief tool like PAFAS; if it rises, stress is likely to fall. Start Monday by asking the parent one positive thing the teacher did this week and pass that praise on.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Reducing parental stress and improving family quality of Life (FQOL) are continuing concerns for families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Family-teacher partnerships have been identified as a positive factor to help parents reduce their stress and improve their FQOL. However, the interrelations among parental stress, FQOL, and family-teacher partnerships need to be further examined so as to identify the possible paths to help parents reduce their stress and improve their FQOL. The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelations among these three variables. METHOD: A total of 236 parents of school children with ASD completed questionnaires, which included three measures: (a) the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale, (b) the Parental Stress Scale, and (c) the Beach Center Family-Professional Partnerships Scale. The structural equation modeling was used to analyze the interrelations among these three variables. RESULTS: Perceived parental stress had a direct effect on parental satisfaction concerning FQOL and vice versa. Perceived family-teacher partnerships had a direct effect on FQOL, but did not have a direct effect on parental stress. However, family-teacher partnerships had an indirect effect on parental stress through FQOL. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Reducing parental stress could improve FQOL for families of children with ASD and vice versa. Strong family-teacher partnerships could help parents of children with ASD improve their FQOL and indirectly reduce their stress.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2017 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2017.08.013