Resilience, and positive parenting in parents of children with syndromic autism and intellectual disability. Evidence from the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on family's quality of life and parent–child relationships

Abstract

Family quality of life (FQoL) outcomes collected during the first year of COVID-19 has been combined with 2018 data to estimate the outbreak's impact on parental outcomes on a sample of 230 families with syndromic autistic children and those with intellectual disabilities (IDs). Despite challenges imposed by the COVID-19 outbreak, our study found that FQoL outcomes reported by participating parents during the first year of COVID-19 appears to be similar to ratings from a prepandemic study of families with the same conditions. Parents of children in our sample generally displayed a stable functioning trajectory as measured by the validated FQoL instrument. Across syndromic autistic groups considered, families reported that their relationships with their children were positive. Our findings provide evidence of families' resilience which might explain the presence of positive parentchild interactions during COVID-19. Exploring mechanisms which would explain how families with autistic and ID children confront, manage disruptive experiences, and buffer COVID-19 induced stress is a fruitful direction for future research.

Influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with autism spectrum disorder and their mothers in Japan

“…Second, concerning neutral effects, some mothers reported that their jobs and lives did not change, thus implying that they were not significantly affected. Third, regarding positive effects, the mothers reported that they worked out how to interact with the child, such as “provide support according to the infection situation” and “maintain a moderate psychological distance.” These results are consistent with those of Daulay (2021), who showed that mothers use coping strategies in their efforts to minimize the stress and difficulties they encounter and support the resilience model proposed by Bolbocean et al (2022). Notably, the participating mothers had a history of receiving consultations and support in clinic centers and other sources prior to the pandemic, which could have facilitated their spontaneous use of coping strategies.…”

“…Thus, the current findings play an important role in suggesting more creative solutions to the challenges of coping with and resilience to future crises. As noted by Bolbocean et al (2022) and Daulay (2021), maternal resilience could have prompted the children's adaptation to their daily lives during the pandemic. Furthermore, this study suggests the presence of children's coping and resilience abilities, as they demonstrated efforts to cope with and overcome the constraints in their lives.…”

“…Finally, positive aspects include acquisition of new routines and skills (Amirova et al, 2022; Latzer et al, 2021; Majoko & Dudu, 2020; Meral, 2021), enhancement of home education (Daulay, 2021; Heyworth et al, 2021; Majoko & Dudu, 2020), improved mental health and well-being of children with ASD and their parents (Latzer et al, 2021; Pellicano et al, 2022; Rogers et al, 2021), and sharing more family time (Bozkus-Genc & Sani-Bozkurt, 2022; Meral, 2021; Rogers et al, 2021). As for these factors, Bolbocean et al (2022) speculated that this was because the COVID-19 crisis encouraged the activation of parental resilience, which is the ability of families and their children to beat the odds under adverse conditions. The activation was influenced by parents’ ability to accommodate their children's needs, in addition to their creativity, resourcefulness, and ability to maintain a positive outlook.…”

Health-Related Quality of Life and Mental Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Five Countries: A One-Year Longitudinal Study

“…We found no difference to slight deterioration in HRQoL among most of the respondents in different countries in our study. Many studies have suggested that HRQoL and mental well-being during the pandemic in the general population are persistently poorer compared to before the pandemic [ 29 , 37 , 38 , 39 ], although in certain sub-populations no changes were observed [ 40 ]. Our study results may indicate that the effects of the pandemic have persisted, even among those that have not been infected by COVID-19.…”

Positive parenting practices support children at neurological risk during COVID-19: a call for accessible parenting interventions

“…One COVID-19 specific study found that teaching parents how to engage with their children through acts of kindness, developing trusting relationships, and responding with compassion increased parent–child resilience during the pandemic as measured by parental resilience and parent-reported child empathetic prosocial behavior levels ( Johnson et al, 2022 ). Studies of children with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disabilities, showed that positive parenting enhanced pandemic resilience, as measured by a family quality of life and parent–child relationship questionnaires ( Bolbocean et al, 2022 ). However, no studies have looked at whether positive parenting can specifically impact children’s behavior in a sample of children at neurological risk (i.e., preterm birth, brain injuries, pediatric stroke) and/or neurodevelopmental (i.e., learning disabilities, autism, ADHD) during and immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether parental mental health impedes positive parenting practices.…”