Date Presented 03/22/24
Comparing quality of life, resilience and stress of mothers and fathers of autistic adolescents highlight the need of OTs to take into account the views, wants and preferences of both parents, enabling a more accurate parent-specific intervention.
Primary Author and Speaker: Tal Mazor-Karsenty
Additional Authors and Speakers: Batel Wachspress
Contributing Authors: Hadas Goldberger, Shlomit Tsafrir, Adina Maeir
PURPOSE: Parenting an autistic adolescent affects caregivers’ quality of life, resilience, and stress levels. There is limited research comparing mothers and fathers of autistic adolescents in these areas. This study aimed to compare between mothers and fathers of autistic adolescents in these indices.
DESIGN: This non-experimental descriptive study is part of a larger randomized, pragmatic controlled trial, examining the effectiveness of an intervention for parents of autistic adolescents.
METHOD: Forty-four parents: 15 fathers (M= 49.24 yrs. old, SD= 7.84) and 29 mothers (M= 46.19, SD= 5.36) completed self-report questionnaires for quality of life (The World Health Organization Quality of Life- WHOQOL BREF), parental resilience (Autism: Parenting Questionnaire- APQ), and general stress (The 12-item General Health Questionnaire- GHQ-12). Analyses compared a paired sample (between parents of adolescents) and an unpaired sample (between all mothers and all fathers) using Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney tests.
RESULTS: In the paired sample, mothers reported higher parental resilience in the areas of play (Z= -2.68, p=0.007) and behavior management (Z= -2.16, p=0.03). In the unpaired sample, fathers reported higher physical quality of life (Z=-1.92, p= 0.05), lower stress (Z= -2.2, p= 0.028) and better family functioning (Z= -2.08, p= 0.03). Mothers who participated in the intervention study with a partner had higher physical and environmental quality of life and reduced stress compared to those participating without a partner.
CONCLUSION: Differences between fathers and mothers of autistic adolescents, in relation to quality of life, resilience and stress, highlight the need of OTs to take into account the perspectives, wants and preferences of both parents. Moreover, understanding these differences will enable a more accurate parent-specific intervention targeting a multi-faceted family unit.
References
Bekhet, A. K., Johnson, N. L., & Zauszniewski, J. A. (2012). Effects on resilience of caregivers of persons with autism spectrum disorder: the role of positive cognitions. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 18(6), 337–344. DOI: 10.1177/1078390312467056. http://jap.sagepub.com
Grebe, S. C., Mire, S. S., Kim, H., & Keller-Margulis, M. A. (2022). Comparing fathers’ and mothers’ perspectives about their child’s autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52(4), 1841–1854. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05077-7
Lee, L.-C., Harrington, R. A., Louie, B. B., & Newschaffer, C. J. (2008). Children with autism: quality of life and parental concerns. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(6), 1147–1160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0491-0
DePape, A.-M., & Lindsay, S. (2015). Parents’ experiences of caring for a child with autism spectrum disorder. Qualitative Health Research, 25(4), 569–583. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732314552455
