Emotional and behavioral functioning of typically-developing sisters of children with autism spectrum disorder: The roles of ASD severity,parental stress,and marital status

BackgroundResearch has shown varied outcomes for typically-developing (TD) siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), suggesting that some emotional and behavioral difficulties may occur only under specific conditions. In addition to characteristics of the children with ASD, family contextual factors may also predict sibling adjustment.MethodThis study examined parent marital status and parental stress as moderators of the relation between ASD siblings’ symptom severity and emotional and behavioral adjustment in 56 TD sisters via self- and parent-report.ResultsAt moderate and high levels of parental stress, TD sisters with siblings with relatively severe ASD symptomatology and with unmarried parents reported the highest levels of emotional and behavioral difficulties. Yet, TD sisters with siblings with relatively less severe ASD symptomatology and with unmarried parents reported the lowest levels of challenging behaviors and emotional symptoms.ConclusionsThese findings indicate that clinicians treating families of children with relatively severe ASD and unmarried parents should be particularly cognizant of the functioning of TD sisters.     

Factors associated with negative co-parenting experiences in families of a child with autism spectrum disorder

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify key factors associated with negative co-parenting experiences in parents raising a child with autism spectrum disorder. Methods: Questionnaires were sent to families with one or more children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Parents of 142 children with autism spectrum disorder indicated that the diagnosis had a very negative impact on their co-parent relationship. A multivariate logistic regression model was run to analyze the association of these experiences with various demographic, family and community factors. Results: Three factors were associated with negative co-parenting relationships: (1) family stress due to the child’s diagnosis, (2) effects of the diagnosis on parents’ relationship with their other children and (3) distance travelled to the nearest medical facility. Conclusions: Findings highlight the need to further explore family dynamics, particularly the relationships between the co-parenting alliance, other family members and the extra-familial environment.     

Parenting stress and coping styles in mothers and fathers of pre‐school children with autism and Down syndrome

Background The study examined the profile of stress in mothers and fathers of preschool children with autism, Down syndrome and typically developing children. A further aim was to assess the association between parenting stress and coping style. Methods A total of 162 parents were examined using Holroyd's 66‐item short form of Questionnaire of Resources and Stress for Families with Chronically Ill or Handicapped Members and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations by Endler and Parker. Results and Conclusions The results indicated a higher level of stress in parents of children with autism. Additionally, an interaction effect was revealed between child diagnostic group and parent's gender for two scales of parenting stress: dependency and management and limits of family opportunities. Mothers of children with autism scored higher than fathers in parental stress; no such differences were found in the group of parents of children with Down syndrome and typically developing children. It was also found that parents of children with autism differed from parents of typically developing children in social diversion coping. Emotion‐oriented coping was the predictor for parental stress in the samples of parents of children with autism and Down syndrome, and task‐oriented coping was the predictor of parental stress in the sample of parents of typically developing children. The results strongly supported earlier findings on parenting stress in parents of children with autism. They also shed interesting light on the relationship between coping styles and parental stress.     

护士工作压力源、应对方式、社会支持与焦虑抑郁状况的相关性研究

目的 探讨护士工作压力源、应对方式、社会支持与焦虑抑郁情绪的关系.方法 采用问卷调查法,对广州军区武汉总医院的297名护士进行调查,主要包括护士工作压力源量表、简易应对方式问卷、社会支持评定量表、抑郁自评量表和焦虑自评量表.结果 （1）护士焦虑抑郁情绪的检出率分别为39.58％和33.92％;（2）护士工作压力源中除了工作环境及资源方面的问题,其余各维度均与焦虑抑郁情绪有联系.应对方式及社会支持各因子均与护士焦虑抑郁情绪有关;（3）压力源中,管理及人际方面的问题对焦虑抑郁情绪有正向预测作用,患者护理方面的问题仅对抑郁情绪有正向预测作用.应对方式中,消极应对对焦虑抑郁情绪有正向预测作用,积极应对对焦虑抑郁情绪有负向预测作用.社会支持中,主观支持仅对焦虑情绪有负向影响.其中最具有预测力的为管理及人际方面的问题.结论 护士的焦虑抑郁情绪检出率较高,护士工作压力源、应对方式及社会支持与护士的心理健康有一定的联系.     

Behavioral adjustment of siblings of children with autism engaged in applied behavior analysis early intervention programs: the moderating role of social support

There have been few studies of the impact of intensive home-based early applied behavior analysis (ABA) intervention for children with autism on family functioning. In the present study, behavioral adjustment was explored in 78 siblings of children with autism on ABA programs. First, mothers' ratings of sibling adjustment were compared to a normative sample. There were no reported increases in behavioral adjustment problems in the present sample. Second, regression analyses revealed that social support functioned as a moderator of the impact of autism severity on sibling adjustment rather than a mediator or compensatory variable. In particular, siblings in families with a less severely autistic child had fewer adjustment problems when more formal social support was also available to the family. The implications of these data for future research and for practice are discussed.     

Sibling self-management: Programming for generalization to improve interactions between typically developing siblings and children with autism spectrum disorders

The present study taught typically developing (TD) siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) social-communicative and self-management skills. The authors’ hypothesized that the acquisition of self-management skills would support generalization of targeted social-communicative responses. A multiple baseline probe design across sibling dyads was used to decrease exposure to unnecessary sessions in the absence of intervention. Four TD siblings were taught self-management of a social skills curriculum using behavioral skills training, which consisted of instructions, modeling, practice, and subsequent feedback. Results indicated that TD siblings learned to self-manage the social skills curriculum with some generalization across novel settings and over time. Comparisons of social-communicative responses to their typical peers provided some support for the social validity of the intervention outcomes. These results support the use of self-management, when explicitly programming for generalization, which continues to be a key consideration when including TD siblings in interventions with their siblings with ASD.     

Parentification of adult siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorder: Distress,sibling relationship attitudes,and the role of social support

Background Typically developing (TD) siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often fulfil caregiving roles as children or adults (i.e., parentification, which can be either parent-focused or sibling-focused).

Method This study examines how parentification interacts with social support when predicting distress and sibling relationship attitudes in 60 TD adult siblings of individuals with ASD.

Results Perceived social support served as a moderator. Specifically, TD adult siblings who experienced high parent-focused parentification during childhood and low current social support were most likely to report high distress. TD siblings who reported low sibling-focused parentification during childhood and low current social support were most likely to report less positive attitudes about their relationships with their siblings with ASD.

Conclusions Current findings suggest that perceived social support may serve as a potential point of intervention for reducing distress and improving sibling relationship attitudes among adult TD siblings of those with ASD.     

Social support buffers young men's resilient coping to psychological distress

Aim

Social support and resilient coping can aid mental health. The aim of this study was to examine age effects of social support on men's resilient coping for psychological distress.

Methods

The sample consisted of 434 help-seeking Canadian men who completed standardized measures. Regression analyses tested a moderated moderation model, controlling for COVID-19 pandemic impact.

Results

Greater resilient coping was associated with lower psychological distress and this relationship was moderated by social support. Higher levels of social support had a significant positive effect on men's resilient coping for psychological distress. Findings indicated that younger men (18–24 years) were most positively buffered by social support.

Conclusions

Social support appears to be particularly important for young men's coping response to psychological distress. This is an important finding in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, where social support networks have been challenged. Community-based and clinical programs and initiatives that proactively target young men's development of social connections and robust supportive networks, while bolstering their individual resilient coping skills, are likely to provide protections from psychological distress.     

Social support and functional outcome in severe mental illness: The mediating role of proactive coping

Individuals with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) are faced with wide-spread social and occupational impairment, yet some are able to achieve a meaningful degree of functional improvement. A structural model based on Proactive Coping Theory was developed and tested in a longitudinal context to better understand: (1) the impact of proactive processes on functioning for people with SMI, and (2) the stability of the theoretical framework over time for this population. A latent path analysis examining social support, positive reappraisal, intrinsic motivation, and role functioning was tested with 148 severely mentally ill individuals receiving psychosocial rehabilitation treatment at baseline. An observed path analysis of the model was examined at six months post-baseline with 102 people. The baseline model displayed an excellent fit to the data and accounted for 54% of the variance in role functioning. Results at time 2 also suggest the empirical promise and potential longitudinal viability of the model. In line with Proactive Coping Theory and a social resources model of coping, social support may facilitate proactive coping processes to enhance role functioning, and these processes may be stable over time for people with SMI.     

Resilience and social support promote posttraumatic growth of women with infertility: The mediating role of positive coping

According to previous research, clinical experience with individuals facing infertility has demonstrated that positive psychological changes can arise from the struggle involved (Paul et al., 2010), which is called posttraumatic growth (PTG). However, little knowledge has been gained about the relationships between PTG and its facilitating factors. The present study examined whether resilience and social support could predict PTG in women with infertility. The role of positive coping as a potential mediator was also assessed. Using a cross-sectional design, all members of a convenience sample of 182 women with infertility completed self-report measures of PTG, resilience, perceived social support, positive coping and background information. It was found that resilience, social support and positive coping positively correlated with PTG, which explained 34.0% of the total variance. The results suggested that positive coping partially mediated the impact of resilience on PTG while it totally mediated the relationship between social support and PTG. These findings demonstrated that, in clinical settings, improving positive coping in women with infertility may be helpful for the attainment of PTG.     

脑卒中患者的人格特征、应付方式和社会支持状况的调查研究

目的 调查脑卒中患者的人格特征、在不同情况下采用的应付方式和社会支持状况.方法 采用艾森克个性问卷(EPQ)、应付方式问卷(CSQ)和社会支持评定量表(SSS)对68例脑卒中患者和68名正常对照者进行测评.结果 脑卒中组的内外倾向性分(E分)和情绪稳定性分(N分)(11.98±4.79,12.98±4.73)明显高于正常对照组(9.46±4.18,9.60±4.70)(均P＜0.01);脑卒中组自责和退避分量表的得分(3.49±1.29,5.68±1.63)均高于正常对照组(2.17±1.12,4.23±1.27),求助分量表的得分(3.07±2.31)低于正常对照组(5.29±2.03),差异有极显著性(均P＜0.01);脑卒中组社会支持总分(36.68±4.97)、客观支持评分(8.02±2.93)和对社会支持的利用度评分(6.74±2.13)显著低于正常对照组(41.22±3.41,9.88±2.76,8.38±1.82),差异有显著性(均P＜0.05).结论 脑卒中患者的人格具有外倾性和不稳定性;多采用不成熟的应付方式;脑卒中患者缺乏社会支持.     

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.     

心理干预对烧伤患者的社会支持和应对方式的影响

目的：探讨心理干预对烧伤患者的社会支持和应对方式的影响。方法：将84例中重度、特重度烧伤患者随机分为干预组43例和非干预组41例,干预组给予常规治疗＋心理干预,非干预组仅予常规治疗;共8周。于干预前后分别对两组进行社会支持评定量表（SSRS）及应对方式问卷调查。结果：心理干预后,SSRS的主观支持、利用度及应对方式的积极因子干预组明显高于非干预组（P〈0．05或P〈0．01）;消极因子低于非干预组（P〈0．05或P〈0．01）。重复测量方差分析,两组主观支持、利用度及应对方式的积极因子在时间效应（F=10．47,F=9．50,F=12．59）、组别效应（F=7．01,F=7．23,F=10．53）及交互效应（F=14．83,F=11．80,F=14．53）方面有显著统计学意义（P均〈0．01）;消极因子组别效应不显著（F=3．44,P〉0．05）,但时间效应（F=7．14）、交互效应（F=5．79）有显著统计学意义（P〈0．05或P〈0．01）。结论：心理干预有利于烧伤患者减轻负性情绪、改善应对方式及提高社会支持。     

The relationship between parental stress and mastery,forgiveness, and social support among parents of children with autism

BackgroundParents of children with autism have significantly more parenting-stress symptoms than parents of typically developing children. Therefore, the main goal of the present study was to examine the relationship between personal and social resources among families of different cultures, in which parents are coping with the stress of raising children with autism.MethodTwo hundred and nine (N = 209) participants, including Jewish (n = 105) and Arab (n = 104) participants, completed demographic, mastery, forgiveness, social support, and parental stress questionnaires.ResultsThe study findings demonstrated no significant differences between the groups regarding mastery, forgiveness, or social support. However, a marginally significant difference was found with regard to the age at the time of diagnosis and parental stress. Arab children were diagnosed earlier and Arab parents reported higher levels of parental stress. Hierarchical multiple regressions showed that among the Jewish sample age, education, financial situation, mastery, and social support contributed significantly to the explained variance in parental stress. Among the Arab sample, severity of autism, forgiveness, mastery, and social support contributed significantly to the explained variance in parental stress.ConclusionsThese findings make an important contribution to our understanding of mastery, forgiveness, and social support while helping parents cope with the stress of raising a child with autism. In addition, in multicultural countries, it is important to be aware of differences and similarities in the factors predicting parental stress.     

Buddhism-as-a-meaning-system for coping with late-life stress: a conceptual framework

Objectives: Religion is increasingly conceptualized as a meaning system for adjustment and coping. Most of the conceptualizations are grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition. They may thus not be applicable to Buddhism, which provides a distinct tenor of meaning for coping. This article seeks to construct a conceptual framework of Buddhism-as-a-meaning-system for coping with late-life stress.

Method: Literature review and conceptualization were employed.

Results: Under this framework, Buddhism functions as a meaning system involving existential meaning, cognitive meaning, and behavioral meaning.

Conclusion: There is reason to believe that this framework promises to offer a holistic conceptual map of Buddhist coping in late life. Thus, it could serve as a guide for further empirical and theoretical exploration in the uncharted terrains of Buddhist coping in old age. In addition, gerontological practitioners could use this framework as a frame of reference when working with elderly Buddhist clients who are in stressful circumstances.     

A longitudinal investigation of marital dissolution,marital quality,and generalized anxiety disorder in a national probability sample

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common psychiatric disorder that is associated with high levels of distress and impairment. The present study was conducted to examine the 10-year longitudinal associations between marital dissolution, three measures of marital quality, and GAD among married participants from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) survey, a probability sample of American adults aged 24–74 years. Results indicated that GAD at baseline was significantly and positively associated with incidence of marital dissolution during the 10-year follow-up and marital strain (i.e., negative partner interaction) at baseline was significantly and positively associated with incidence of GAD at the 10-year follow-up. These associations remained statistically significant after adjusting for demographic characteristics and neuroticism. In comparison, marital satisfaction and marital support (i.e., positive partner interaction) at baseline were not significantly associated with incidence of GAD, GAD at baseline was not significantly associated with any of the three measures of marital quality at follow-up, and marital dissolution during follow-up was not significantly associated with incidence of GAD. These findings suggest that negative interactions with one’s partner may be a risk factor for GAD and that improving marital functioning may be important for the prevention and treatment of GAD.     

抑郁症患者家属心理健康水平、应对方式及社会支持的现状

目的:探讨抑郁症患者家属的心理健康水平、应对方式及社会支持水平。方法:对与抑郁症患者同住的150名家属进行症状自评量表(SCL-90)、简易应对方式问卷(SCSQ)和社会支持评定量表(SSRS)评估,并与全国常模的数据比较。结果:抑郁症患者家属SCL-90总分及躯体化、抑郁、焦虑、精神病性因子分明显高于全国常模(P均0.05);SCSQ中积极的应对方式得分明显低于全国常模,而消极方式得分明显高于全国常模(P均0.05);SSRS中男性家属客观支持、主观支持、支持利用评分及女性家属客观支持评分明显低于全国常模(P均0.05)。结论:抑郁症患者家属心理健康水平较差,社会支持少,多采取消极的应对方式;他们需要心理干预。