Adverse Childhood Experiences and Family Resilience Among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to (1) examine the differences in adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and comorbid ASD/ADHD and healthy neurodevelopmental controls; (2) explore the levels of family resilience across diagnostic categories; (3) identify the differences in family resilience by the number of ACEs; and (4) explore the interaction between ACEs and the diagnostic category on family resilience. Method: Participants were 2083 children between the ages of 6 and 17 years (M = 12.23, SD = 3.36) from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health. The majority of the sample were male (68.7%) and white (78.6%). Results: Overall, youth diagnosed with solely ADHD had the highest number of ACEs (Madj = 1.94). In addition, individuals who endorsed exposure to 1 ACE reported higher levels of family resilience in comparison to those who reported 0 ACEs or 2 or more ACEs. Family resilience did not differ between youth who experienced 2 or more ACEs and youth who experienced 0 ACEs. Youth diagnosed with comorbid ASD/ADHD had the lowest levels of family resilience. Interestingly, family resilience did not differ between ADHD and neurotypical youth. Conclusion: Youth diagnosed with ADHD seem to be at the highest risk for ACEs. Those with comorbid ASD/ADHD report the lowest levels of family resilience when controlling for exposure to ACEs. Families of youth with ASD had lower levels of family resilience than those of neurotypical youth when controlling for exposure to ACEs, whereas families of youth with solely ADHD displayed similar levels of family resilience in comparison to neurotypical youth and their families. Results have implications for prevention and intervention with ASD and/or ADHD youth and their families.

Family Resilience and Its Association with Psychosocial Adjustment of Children with Chronic Illness: A Latent Profile Analysis

“…In other words, the phenomenon of family resilience exhibits considerable heterogeneity, especially among families having children affected by chronic illness. Nevertheless, the majority of studies focusing on family resilience have used psychometric measures to either define the presence/absence of family resilience or have explored the level of family resilience as a composite score (Lennon & Heaman, 2015;Li et al, 2019;Schneider et al, 2019). These approaches do not permit inferences regarding the variation of resilience in families having children affected by chronic illness; in addition, quantitative exploration of the family resilience profiles has received scant attention in the literature.…”

Relationship of childhood trauma, psychological resilience, and family resilience among undergraduate nursing students: A cross‐sectional study

“…22 Additionally, exposure to childhood trauma experiences is related to compromised family functioning. 23 However, the relationship between childhood trauma, psychological resilience, and family resilience in Chinese undergraduate nursing students is not well characterized in contemporary literature. Understanding how family resilience contributes to the psychological resilience of nursing students who are exposed to childhood trauma is a key imperative.…”

Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Revised Walsh family resilience questionnaire

“…Family health workers have recently focused on family resilience research, which has resulted in the family being viewed in a more positive light by healthcare professionals (8). The concept of family resilience has been utilized for various populations over recent years, including those with breast cancers, adolescent cancers, youths with sickle cell disease, children with cleft lip, and children with autism spectrum disorder (9)(10)(11)(12)(13). The aforementioned studies indicate that support from family and friends, assistance from professional medical and nursing teams, and community services promote resilience of affected families.…”