Support Needs and Parent Outcomes in Arab Families of Children with Autism Living in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Research on the experiences of Arab families of children with autism living in non-Arab countries is scarce. A survey investigated the support needs, psychological distress, and parental relationships of Arab parents (n = 100) of children with autism living in the United Kingdom (UK). The survey consisted of five main questionnaires: a demographic questionnaire, the GO4KIDDS Brief Adaptive Scale, the Family Needs Survey, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Descriptive analysis indicated that the most frequently identified support needs were information, community services, and explaining to others. Parents reported high levels of psychological distress, a high level of parental relationship satisfaction with their spouse, and few parental disagreements about their child with autism. Regression analyses showed that increased child behavior problems predicted more total family needs. Higher levels of child prosocial behavior, the better health status of parents, and a larger number of children in the family were associated with lower levels of parental psychological distress. A longer time living in the UK was associated with more parental disagreement over issues related to the child with ASD. Reducing child behavior problems and increasing child prosocial behavior may be important targets for support and intervention to improve outcomes for Arab parents of autistic children.

Challenging behaviour and its correlates in preschool‐aged children with an intellectual disability in Saudi Arabia

“…We adopted the Arabic translation of the GO4KIDDS (Alallawi et al . 2022) with small copy edits to the translation of most items to ensure quality in translation and improve readability in Arabic. The eating skills item is culturally adapted because eating with hands and fingers is common in Arab cultures.…”

Family Functioning and Strengths in Families of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder in Saudi Arabia

“…Thus, family, in Saudi Arabia, is not just the principal societal unit where child development occurs but also has its religious basis (Almalki, 2020). Research related to families in Saudi Arabia with children with ASD has previously investigated families from different perspectives, such as parental stress and well-being (Alhuzimi, 2021); social support (Khusaifan & Keshky, 2021); anxiety (Althiabi, 2021); depression (Alquraini et al, 2019; Alshahrani & Algashmari, 2021); support needs (Alallawi et al, 2022); and community knowledge (Abualhommos et al, 2022). A recent study (Tsibidaki, 2020) examined family functioning and strengths in the context of families raising a child with cerebral palsy (CP) in Greek and Italy, two countries with the most family-oriented cultures in Europe, where the family has a high standing and value in the community.…”

“…The impact of ASD on the family can be multi-dimensional, as the family can be impacted financially, socially, and even from an employment perspective (Alallawi et al, 2022). For instance, families of children with ASD have been reported to have enhanced extents of stress and impaired family functioning (Rao & Beidel, 2009).…”