Parental Stress and Child Well-Being in Autism, Epilepsy, and Their Comorbidity: A Comparative Study.
Extra family support raises life quality for Chinese ASD families by cutting stress first.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers asked Chinese parents of children with autism about family support, stress, and quality of life. They used surveys to map how these pieces fit together. The goal was to see if more family support leads to better life quality, even when stress is high.
What they found
More family support meant higher family quality of life in two ways. It helped directly by giving families practical and emotional backup. It also helped indirectly by lowering the parents' stress levels first.
How this fits with other research
Wang et al. (2020) showed the basic link: higher stress lowers quality of life. The new study keeps that link but adds the support pathway.
Yan et al. (2022) found support boosts parental involvement through lower stress. The new study widens the end point from involvement to overall family quality of life.
Brennan et al. (2025) looked at U.S. parents and saw emotional support best predicts relationship satisfaction. The Chinese data now show the same support-stress link works for whole-family well-being, not just couple happiness.
Why it matters
You can strengthen families without first fixing the child’s autism. Ask caregivers who backs them up at home, then add supports like grandparent training or sibling groups. Each new ally chips away at stress and lifts the whole family’s day-to-day life.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Research has shown that support for families with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the United States has led to reduce parental stress. To better understand the situation in China, it is crucial to evaluate the current status of family support and provide clear evidence of the impact of family support on positive family outcomes. AIMS: This study aims to provide initial evidence to examine these interrelations among family support, parental stress, and family quality of life in mainland China. METHOD: A total of 226 parents of children with ASD completed two questionnaires (Beach Center Family Quality of Life (FQOL) Scale and the Family Support Scale for Chinese Children with ASD) and a demographic family information form. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the interrelation among parental stress, family support, and FQOL. RESULTS: Parents perceived a moderate to low level of family support and FQOL and high level of parental stress. Family support had a direct positive effect on FQOL (β = .54) and an indirect effect on FQOL through parental stress (β = .06). CONCLUSION: Resources should be devoted to establishing a family support system that promotes FQOL and buffers parental stress for families of children with ASD.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2026 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2019.103523