Social support and post-crisis growth among mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder and mothers of children with down syndrome.
Social support lifts moms of kids with autism but not moms of kids with Down syndrome, so tailor parent support by diagnosis.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Alon (2019) asked 110 moms of kids with autism and 110 moms of kids with Down syndrome to fill out two forms. One form measured how much social support they felt. The other form measured post-crisis growth, which means positive life changes after hard times.
The kids were . The study used surveys, not an experiment.
What they found
For moms of kids with autism, more social support meant higher post-crisis growth. The link was strong and clear.
For moms of kids with Down syndrome, social support had no effect on post-crisis growth. The benefit was autism-specific.
How this fits with other research
Turk et al. (2010) found the same autism-only boost ten years earlier. Their survey showed family support raised optimism and well-being in moms of kids with ASD. Raaya’s result is a close replication.
Sturmey et al. (1996) seems to disagree. In that study, moms of teens with Down syndrome who had more support saw bigger gains in their child’s daily-living skills. The twist: P et al. looked at child progress, not mom growth. Same support, different outcome, so the papers don’t actually clash.
Hamama (2022) widens the lens. In a mixed group of moms (autism, intellectual disability, other delays), support plus self-efficacy lifted life satisfaction. Raaya’s autism-only effect fits inside this bigger picture.
Why it matters
If you serve autism families, build quick support check-ins into every parent meeting. Ask, “Who can you call this week?” and keep a list of local autism parent groups handy. If you serve Down syndrome families, focus on other tools like stress-reduction or skill training, because extra social contacts alone won’t raise mom growth.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add a 30-second question to your next parent meeting: “Name one person you can talk to this week,” and hand them the local autism parent-group phone number.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Raising a child with special needs challenges mothers in complicated ways, yet, alongside these difficulties, there is evidence for maternal post-crisis growth. Social support is one element that may contribute to growth. AIMS: This study explores the relationship between social support and post-crisis growth, examines type of disability as a mediating variable between support and growth, and, looks at the relations between subtypes of support and growth. METHODS & PROCEDURES: Participants included 99 mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and 119 mothers of children with Down Syndrome (DS). Mothers completed three self-report questionnaires: demographic, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Stress-Related Growth Scale. RESULTS: Social support was found to predict maternal post-crisis growth with type of disability serving as a mediating variable between them, such that social support contributes to post-crisis growth only among mothers of children with ASD. In addition, results revealed various correlations between types of support and types of growth. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: The findings indicate that compared to DS, characteristics of ASD may contribute to less maternal post-crisis growth, and that social support serves as an important predictor for growth in this group. Finding ways to increase social support for mothers of children with ASD thus gains additional importance.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2019 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2019.04.010