Effects on Resilience of Caregivers of Persons With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

The results support resilience theory and suggest a need for developing interventions to strengthen positive thinking among caregivers of persons with ASD.

Wellbeing of mothers of children with “A-U-T-I-S-M” in Malaysia: An interpretative phenomenological analysis study

“…Furthermore, the family's perceptions or the meaning they give to the crisis situation can lead to reframing, which has been linked with lower levels of depression in parents of children with ASD (Manning et al, 2011). Additionally, positive cognitions have been associated with parental resourcefulness and resiliency (Bekhet, Johnson, & Zauszniewski, 2012). The outcome of the model (the "X") represented family adaptation.…”

The Mediating Effects of Positive Cognitions on Autism Caregivers' Depression and Their Children's Challenging Behaviors

“…In addition, the general rule of thumb as suggested by MacKinnon, Lockwood, Lockwood, West, and Sheets (2002) is that a sample size of 1000 is required to detect a small effect, a sample size of 100 is sufficient in detecting a medium effect, and a sample size of 50 is required to detect a large effect. In fact, based on previous research by the researchers with caregivers of persons with ASD (Bekhet, Johnson, & Zauszniewski, 2012), a medium effect size is used in the current study, therefore a sample of 117 caregivers in the current study is justifiable.…”

Online Positive Thinking Training Intervention for Caregivers of Individuals with ASD: Necessity, Acceptability and Feasibility

“…Possible range of scores is zero to 40, with higher scores indicating more depressive cognition after reverse coding the eight items. The DCS is reliable, as demonstrated by Cronbach's alpha of .90 in ASD CGs (Bekhet, Johnson, et al, 2012). Construct validity was supported by correlations in the expected directions with CG burden (r = .40; p < .001), resourcefulness (r = −.65; p < .001), sense of coherence (r = −.77; p < .001), and quality of life (r = −.70; p < .001; Zauszniewski & Suresky, 2010).…”

“…A descriptive research study conducted by Bekhet and colleagues (2012) has shown that positive thinking attenuated the effects of CGs' burden and enhanced their levels of resourcefulness and psychological well-being in a sample of 95 CGs of persons with ASD (Bekhet, Johnson, & Zauszniewski, 2012). It has been pointed out that "research on interventions designed to help individuals with ASD and their families has been comparatively more limited" (Karst & Van Hecke, 2012, p. 247).…”