Spilling over: Partner parenting stress as a predictor of family cohesion in parents of adolescents with developmental disabilities

Family cohesion relates to positive outcomes for both parents and children. Maintaining cohesion may be especially challenging for families of adolescents with developmental disabilities, yet this has been studied infrequently in this group. We investigated cohesion in these families, particularly with respect to partner stress, using the notion of the ‘spillover effect’ as a model.Adolescents with disabilities and their parents participated. Parents reported on teen adaptive and problem behaviours and on marital satisfaction, parenting stress, and family cohesion. The stress of one partner was tested as a predictor of the quality of family cohesion reported by the other.Adolescent behaviour problems were negative predictors of family cohesion in mothers, and marital satisfaction positively predicted cohesion for both parents. Above other factors, greater partner stress predicted poorer family cohesion for both fathers and mothers. Marital satisfaction acted as a suppressor of this relation. To improve the overall climate of families, care providers should take into consideration individual relationships, including the marital relationship. In addition, the possibility of spillover from one individual to another should be recognized as a factor in family functioning. Family-centred practices are likely to lead to greater feelings of cohesion and overall better individual and family well-being.     

Gender Differences When Parenting Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Multilevel Modeling Approach

Parenting a child with autism may differentially affect mothers and fathers. Existing studies of mother–father differences often ignore the interdependence of data within families. We investigated gender differences within-families using multilevel linear modeling. Mothers and fathers of children with autism (161 couples) reported on their own well-being, and their child’s functioning. Mothers reported higher levels of distress compared with fathers, and child behavior problems predicted psychological distress for both mothers and fathers. We found little evidence of child functioning variables affecting mothers and fathers differently. Gender differences in the impact of child autism on parents appear to be robust. More family systems research is required to fully understand these gender differences and the implications for family support.     

Child behaviour problems and partner mental health as correlates of stress in mothers and fathers of children with autism

BACKGROUND: Previous research has suggested that the mothers and fathers of children with disabilities experience stress differently. Although there has been a great deal of research exploring how children affect parents, there have been many fewer studies of the interrelationships between mothers' and fathers' psychological well-being. METHODS: Eighteen married couples who were the parents of children with autism reported on their stress and their general mental health (i.e. anxiety and depression). Teachers rated the behaviour problems of the children with autism. RESULTS: Mothers and fathers did not differ in their levels of stress and depression, but mothers reported more anxiety than fathers. Partial correlation analyses revealed that child behaviour problems and fathers' mental health were associated with mothers' stress. However, neither child behaviour problems or mothers' mental health was associated with fathers' stress. CONCLUSIONS: Although requiring replication, the results suggest that stress in mothers of children with disabilities may be affected by the psychological health of other family members, whereas fathers' stress is affected more by other factors. Methodological and conceptual issues, and the practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Mothers and fathers of young Dutch adolescents with Down syndrome: Health related quality of life and family functioning

BackgroundLike any child, children with Down syndrome (DS) affect the lives of their families. Most studies focus on the adaptation of parents and families of young children with DS, while relatively few studies include the perspective of fathers.AimsTo determine 1) whether mothers and fathers of 11 to 13-year-olds with DS differ from reference parents in health related quality of life (HRQoL) and family functioning, and 2) whether HRQoL in parents of children with DS changes over time, from when the child was 6–8 years old to when the child was 11–13 years old.Methods80 mothers and 44 fathers completed HRQoL and family functioning questionnaires. 58 parents (53 mothers) had completed the HRQoL-questionnaire in a previous study.ResultsMothers differed from reference mothers in one HRQoL-domain (Sexuality), while fathers’ HRQoL did not significantly differ from reference fathers. Both mothers and fathers scored in the (sub)clinical range more frequently than reference parents in Total family functioning, and in the domains Partner relation and Social network. Furthermore, fathers scored in the (sub)clinical range more frequently than reference parents in Responsiveness and Organization. HRQoL showed no significant change over time.Conclusions and implicationsOur findings indicate frequent family functioning problems but few HRQoL problems in parents and families of children with DS. In offering care, a family based approach with special attention for partner relation and social functioning is needed.     

Social Anxiety in Parents of High-Functioning Children with Autism and Asperger Syndrome

We evaluated social anxiety (SA) symptoms in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs; N = 131) and community parents (N = 597) using the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI). SA was significantly more common in ASD than control mothers (15.6 vs. 6.7 %) and more equal between the ASD and control fathers (3.3 vs. 4.8 %). The ASD mothers scored significantly higher than control mothers on all SPAI scales. ASD fathers scored significantly higher than control fathers on the somatic, cognitive, avoidance and agoraphobic symptoms of SA. It is of clinical import to support ASD parents’ well-being as their psychiatric features may contribute greatly to their children’s emotional development and the well-being of the whole family.     

Behaviour and emotional problems in toddlers with pervasive developmental disorders and developmental delay: associations with parental mental health and family functioning

Background Behavioural and emotional problems occur at a high rate in children and adolescents with intellectual disability, often from a young age. Some studies have indicated that children and adolescents with autism present with even higher rates. Less is known about the presentation, development and family impact of these difficulties in young children with autism. This study aimed to explore these issues in toddlers with pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs), those with delay without a PDD, and their families. Methods Participants were 123 children aged 20–51 months, referred to a developmental assessment clinic. Parents completed a checklist on child behavioural and emotional problems, and individual questionnaires on family functioning, their own mental health, and stress in relation to parenting their child. The child’s language and cognitive skills, adaptive functioning and behaviour were assessed by standardized measures. Measures were repeated 1 year postdiagnosis. Behavioural and emotional problems in young children with a PDD were compared with those in children with developmental delay without a PDD, and their impact on parental outcomes explored over time. Results Initial and follow‐up measures of child behaviour and emotional problems, parent mental health problems, parent stress and family functioning were significantly correlated, providing some evidence of stability over time. Child emotional and behavioural problems contributed significantly more to mother stress, parent mental health problems, and perceived family dysfunction than child diagnosis (PDD/non‐PDD), delay or gender. Compared with mothers, all fathers reported significantly less stress in relation to parenting their child. Conclusion Results highlighted the importance of addressing emotional and behavioural problems in very young children with autism and/or developmental delay. The need for early support and intervention for mothers, fathers and families in this context was also evidenced. As research has shown that behavioural and emotional problems persist into adolescence and young adulthood, understanding of these issues in very young children and their parents has important implications for intervention and long‐term outcomes.     

Predictors of stress in mothers and fathers of children with fragile X syndrome

This study examined parental and family stress and functioning where there is a child with fragile X syndrome. Mothers and fathers in 40 families were asked about their child with fragile X syndrome, family supports, their psychological stress, the marital relationship, and their family stress. Results indicate parents were well adjusted in terms of their levels of psychological stress and in their marital relationships, however, parents reported high levels of family stress. Mothers and fathers were found to experience similar levels of stress and to report similar levels of satisfaction with supports. Stress was predicted by different variables in mothers and fathers, suggesting that different processes underlie their experiences. The strongest predictor of maternal stress was the level of marital satisfaction while the strongest predictor of paternal stress was the level of the child's adaptive skills.     

Parenting Stress in Mothers and Fathers of Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Associations with Child Characteristics

Elevated parenting stress is observed among mothers of older children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but little is known about parents of young newly-diagnosed children. Associations between child behavior and parenting stress were examined in mothers and fathers of 54 toddlers with ASD (mean age = 26.9 months). Parents reported elevated parenting stress. Deficits/delays in children's social relatedness were associated with overall parenting stress, parent-child relationship problems, and distress for mothers and fathers. Regulatory problems were associated with maternal stress, whereas externalizing behaviors were associated with paternal stress. Cognitive functioning, communication deficits, and atypical behaviors were not uniquely associated with parenting stress. Clinical assessment of parental stress, acknowledging differences in parenting experiences for mothers and fathers of young children with ASD, is needed.     

Socioeconomic and psychological variables as risk and protective factors for parental well-being in families of children with intellectual disabilities

Background The first aim of the present study was to estimate the extent to which differences in well‐being in parents of children with and without intellectual disability (ID) in Sweden can be accounted for by differences in the presence of the risk factors: (1) child disability; (2) socioeconomic disadvantage; (3) household composition; and (4) parental characteristics. The second aim was concerned with individual variation in well‐being within the group of parents of children with ID. The aim was to estimate if protective factors such as parental personality characteristics (sense of coherence), perceived positive impact of the child and satisfaction with participation in different arenas of life explained variation in well‐being in mothers and fathers of children with ID over and above that explained by the risk factors. Method Parents of children with ID (62 mothers and 49 fathers) and control children (183 mothers and 141 fathers) completed postal surveys on well‐being, socioeconomic situation, health, sense of coherence, satisfaction with participation in different arenas of life and the child's impact on the family. Results The results showed that mothers of children with ID had lower levels of well‐being than fathers and control parents, but the presence of a child with ID did not in itself predict poorer maternal well‐being. Rather, differences in economic hardship and self‐rated health were the strongest predictors for well‐being. It was further found that 67.7% of the mothers of children with ID scored within the high well‐being group. The predictive power of the model increased significantly for both fathers and mothers when protective factors were added to the model (42 and 78% explained variance compared with 25% with only risk factors). Conclusions Well‐being of parents with a child with ID is dependent upon the interplay of risk and protective factors and research needs to address these variables simultaneously.     

Multilevel approach to gender differences in adaptation in father-mother dyads parenting individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

BackgroundMost studies of gender differences in the ASD literature present methodological limitations regarding the treatment of dyadic data. This work explored gender differences in the psychological adaptation of a sample of Spanish fathers and mothers of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) using a multilevel modeling approach (MLM) that accounts for nested data.MethodQuestionnaires including different adaptation measures were completed by 120 father-mother dyads raising individuals with ASD. We designed a two-level model (parents nested in dyads) with three predictor variables at level 1 (parent gender, parent age, and perception of child’s behavior problems) and four predictor variables at level 2 (child age, family income, ASD severity, and time since diagnosis) to examine the influence of these variables on negative and positive psychological outcomes (stress, anxiety, depression, and psychological well-being).ResultsMothers experienced higher levels of stress and anxiety than fathers, even after controlling for interdependence and sociodemographic factors. ASD severity was a significant predictor of both progenitors’ stress and well-being, and family income was also related to psychological well-being, although no gender differences were observed in the way these variables are related to parental outcomes.ConclusionsProfessionals should offer parents support to adjust expectations according to their child’s ASD severity given its relationship to parental stress and well-being. Considering that mothers experience higher levels of stress and anxiety than fathers, clinicians should encourage maternal protective factors. Finally, governments should consider new policies aiming to support ASD families’ treatment expenses.     

The well-being of mothers of adolescents with developmental disabilities in relation to medical care utilization and satisfaction with health care

Parents of children with disabilities have been found to be more likely to experience stress and depressive symptoms than parents of typically developing children as a result of the increased challenges inherent in their parenting role. This study investigated the utilization of and satisfaction with adolescent health care services reported by mothers and their relation to maternal well-being. Participants included 73 mothers and their adolescents with developmental disabilities who had been recruited as infants and toddlers from early intervention programs to participate in a longitudinal investigation, the Early Intervention Collaborative Study. Data were collected through parent reports and structured assessments with adolescents. Regression analyses were conducted to test whether utilization and maternal satisfaction with care related to maternal depressive symptoms or parenting stress after controlling for child and family characteristics. The results demonstrated that both utilization and maternal satisfaction with health care added unique variance in predicting lower levels of maternal stress and depressive symptoms.     

Mothers of adolescents and adults with autism: parenting multiple children with disabilities

We examined types of disabilities in siblings from a large sample of families of adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and the impact of another child with a disability on maternal and family well-being. The most frequent disabilities in siblings were attention and hyperactivity (4.6%) and autism spectrum (2.4%) disorders and psychiatric (2.1%) and learning (2.0%) disabilities. Mothers parenting another child with a disability (in addition to the child with ASD) had higher levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety and lower family adaptability and cohesion compared with mothers whose only child with a disability had ASD (matched on child age and family size). Findings are discussed with respect to understanding the needs of such families, including service provision.     

Well-being, involvement in paid work and division of child-care in parents of children with intellectual disabilities in Sweden

Background The aim of the study was to compare mothers’ and fathers’ involvement in paid work and child‐care in families of children with intellectual disability (ID) and control families and to test if differences in well‐being between mothers and fathers of children with ID can be explained by differences in involvement in paid work and child‐care. Methods Mothers and fathers of 179 children with ID and 196 typically developing children answered mailed surveys on their involvement in paid work, child‐care tasks and well‐being. Only two‐parent families were included. Results The results show main effects for gender of the parent and presence of a child with ID on involvement in paid work and well‐being. Interaction effects indicate that mothers of children with ID are more affected than fathers in their participation in paid work and well‐being. A positive relation between level of participation in paid work and well‐being was found for both mothers and fathers. No difference in division of child‐care tasks was found between families of children with ID and control families. Differences in involvement in paid work and child‐care in families of children with ID only explained 5% of the variance in the difference between mothers’ and fathers’ well‐being. Conclusions Families with children with ID differ from control families in that the parents are less involved in paid work and have lower levels of well‐being. A positive relation between involvement in paid work and well‐being was found.     

Resilience and the course of daily parenting stress in families of young children with intellectual disabilities

Background Parenting stresses have consistently been found to be higher in parents of children with intellectual disabilities (ID); yet, some families are able to be resilient and thrive in the face of these challenges. Despite the considerable research on stress in families of ID, there is still little known about the stability and compensatory factors associated with everyday parenting stresses. Methods Trajectories of daily parenting stress were studied for both mothers and fathers of children with ID across child ages 36–60 months, as were specific familial risk and resilience factors that affect these trajectories, including psychological well‐being of each parent, marital adjustment and positive parent–child relationships. Results Mothers' daily parenting stress significantly increased over time, while fathers' daily parenting stress remained more constant. Decreases in mothers' daily parenting stress trajectory were associated with both mother and father's well‐being and perceived marital adjustment, as well as a positive father–child relationship. However, decreases in fathers' daily parenting stress trajectory were only affected by mother's well‐being and both parents' perceived marital adjustment. Conclusions Parenting stress processes are not shared entirely across the preschool period in parents of children with ID. Although individual parent characteristics and high‐quality dyadic relationships contribute to emerging resilience in parents of children with ID, parents also affect each others' more resilient adaptations in ways that have not been previously considered.     

Different,difficult or distinct? Mothers' and fathers' perceptions of temperament in children with and without intellectual disabilities

Background Can ratings of temperament be a way of identifying young children with intellectual disabilities (ID) who are at risk for being experienced as difficult? We aimed to explore parents' reports of temperament in their young children with or without ID, as well as positive and negative impact of the child on parents. Method Mothers and fathers of 55 children recently diagnosed with ID and 183 age‐matched typically developing (TD) children completed the EASI Temperamental Survey and two scales of the Family Impact Questionnaire measuring positive and negative impact of the child on parents. Results Parents rated children with mixed ID/DD (developmental delay) as shyer and more impulsive, and less active and sociable when compared with TD children. Children with mixed ID/DD were also reported to have more negative and less positive impact on the family compared with the TD group. In subgroup analyses, children with Down syndrome and cerebral palsy/motor impairment were described as having less negative impact on parents and were described as low in negative emotionality. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ID/DD nos and other less common diagnoses had a similar pattern of temperament with high emotionality, shyness and impulsivity, and low activity and sociability. Parents of children with ASD and ID/DD reported the highest level of negative impact. Conclusions Temperamental characteristics such as high negative emotionality and impulsivity, which can be identified earlier than behavioural problems, could be indicators of negative impact on parents of young children with ID. Despite great variability in temperament among children with mixed ID/DD, results indicated common temperamental characteristics among children with ASD, ID/DD and other diagnosis.     

Parental adjustment, marital relationship, and family function in families of children with autism

This study aimed to investigate the psychopathology, marital relationship, and family function in parents of children with autistic disorder (autism) as compared to parents of typically developing children. We also compared these measures between the mothers and the fathers. We assessed 151 families with at least one child with autistic disorder and 113 families of typically developing children in Taiwan. Both parents completed the self-administered questionnaires measuring psychopathology, marital dyadic adjustment, and family function. Both parents of children with autism suffered from more psychopathology and less dyadic consensus than parents of typically developing children; mothers of children with autism, perceived less marital satisfaction, affection expression, family adaptability and cohesion than mothers of typically developing children. We also found that mothers of children with autism displayed more psychopathology and marital maladjustment than did the fathers. These findings highlight that parents of children with autism encounter more psychological problems, marital difficulties and family dysfunction, particularly their mothers.     

Psychological adjustment and sibling relationships in siblings of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Environmental stressors and the Broad Autism Phenotype

Research with siblings of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) suggests that they may be at increased risk for behavioural and emotional problems and relatively poor sibling relationships. This study investigated a diathesis-stress model, whereby the presence of Broad Autism Phenotype features in the typically developing siblings might interact with family-environmental risk variables to predict sibling functioning (5-17 years of age) of children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), their child with an ASD, and their own psychological well-being. Sibling adjustment was associated with the extent of behaviour problems in the child with an ASD and with the extent of the sibling's Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP) features. Sibling relationships were more negative when the child with an ASD had more behaviour problems and when there was evidence of critical expressed emotion in the family environment. Siblings with more BAP features, who had brothers/sisters with an ASD and a greater number of behaviour problems, had more behaviour problems themselves. Siblings with more BAP features who had parents with mental health problems reported more sibling relationship conflict.     

Parenting dimensions in mothers and fathers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Rearing a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a unique challenge for both parents. Previous studies addressed how mothers are affected by the challenges of raising a child with ASD, mostly in terms of stress pattern. In this study, we focused on comparisons between mothers and fathers of children with ASD in parental stress, attitude and mental health. We examined 99 parents of children with ASD using the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, the Parental Style Questionnaire, the Self-Perceptions of the Parental Role and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. The results revealed the gender differences in the parental attitude and mental health. Mothers reported that they engaged in more social behaviors with their children than fathers. In addition mothers reported higher level of depression than fathers. No difference among parents emerged in the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form. The results of a multiple regression analysis revealed that parenting distress is associated with depression, balance of parents’ diverse roles in their life and dysfunctional interaction between parents and children. These findings highlight both similarities and differences between mothers and fathers of children with ASD and the existence of a relationship between parental stress, mental health and attitude. Results suggest the importance of developing specific intervention programs which incorporate these fundamental parenting domains.     

Depression in mothers and fathers of children with intellectual disability

Parental depression was assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in 216 families with children with autism and/or intellectual disability (ID), and in 214 control families. Mothers with children with autism had higher depression scores (mean = 11.8) than mothers of children with ID without autism (mean = 9.2), who in turn, had higher depression scores than fathers of children with autism (mean = 6.2), fathers of children with ID without autism (mean = 5.0), and control mothers (mean = 5.0) and fathers (mean = 4.1). Forty‐five per cent of mothers with children with ID without autism and 50% of mothers with children with autism had elevated depression scores (BDI > 9), compared to 15–21% in the other groups. Single mothers of children with disabilities were found to be more vulnerable to severe depression than mothers living with a partner.     

Sleep patterns and psychological functioning in families in northeastern Iran; evidence for similarities between adolescent children and their parents

Sleep and well-being of adolescents and their parents are related, but data from non-Western countries are scarce. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between adolescents' and their parents' sleep patterns and psychological functioning in northeastern Iran.A total of 81 families (81 mothers, 78 fathers, 130 children aged 12–20 years) took part in the study. They individually and separately completed questionnaires related to sleep and psychological functioning.Sleep quality was related within families. Poor sleep among children and parents was related in each case to more depressive symptoms and stress. Mothers' sleep and psychological functioning were more related to adolescent children's sleep and psychological functioning than were those of fathers.Results confirm research showing that adolescent's and parents' sleep and psychological functioning are inter-related. This association holds also true for families in northeastern Iran, suggesting that the association reflects universal features of family functioning.