The effect of daily challenges in children with autism on parents’ couple problem-solving interactions.

Abstract

The vulnerability-stress-adaptation model guided this examination of the impact of daily fluctuations in the symptoms and co-occurring behavior problems of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on parents’ couple problem-solving interactions in natural settings and as these interactions spontaneously occur. A 14-day daily diary was completed by mothers and fathers in 176 families who had a child with ASD. On each day of the diary, parents separately reported on the child with ASD's daily level of symptoms and co-occurring behavior problems and the topic and level of negative affect in their most meaningful or important daily couple problem-solving interaction. Multilevel modeling was used to account for the within-person, within-couple nested structure of the data. Results indicated that many parents are resilient to experiencing a day with a high level of child ASD symptoms and co-occurring behavior problems and do not report more negative couple problem-solving interactions. However, household income, level of parental broader autism phenotype, and presence of multiple children with special care needs served as vulnerability factors in that they were related to a higher overall rating of negative affect in couple interactions and moderated the impact of reporting a day with a high level of child ASD symptoms and co-occurring behavior problems on next-day ratings of negative couple problem-solving interactions. The magnitude of these effects was small. Understanding mechanisms that support adaptive couple interactions in parents of children with ASD is critical for promoting best outcomes.

Impact of multiple co‐occurring emotional and behavioural conditions on children with autism and their families

“…Despite the previous evidence of effects of comorbid conditions on families of children with ASD (Hartley et al, ; Lecavalier et al, ; and Peacock et al, ), the present authors found inconsistent or little evidence of this. In this study, family mental health counselling, respite services, work‐life changes and weekly hours of care were not significantly impacted by the presence of comorbid conditions.…”

“…Some research has found similarities in mothers’ and fathers’ experiences of raising a child with ASD (Hartley & Schultz, ), including similar levels of optimism and coping strategies (Willis et al, ). Mothers and fathers can also show great resilience to the daily severity of autism symptoms by not letting these experiences affect marital cooperation (Hartley, Papp, Blumenstock, & Floyd, ).…”

“…There is some evidence that child characteristics may influence both perceived stress and experiences for both parents. For example, co‐occurring behaviour problems in children with ASD can make both parents more vulnerable to negative effects (Hartley et al, ). Other research has found that the age of the child, the number co‐occurring behaviour problems, the presence of an intellectual disability, parent education and household income are related to the amount of support that a parent needs (Hartley & Schultz, ).…”

Parental relationship satisfaction in families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD): A multilevel analysis

“…The quality of the couple relationship has been found to be a predictor of parental well‐being [Hartley, Papp, Blumenstock, Floyd, & Goetz, ; Kersh, Hedvat, Hauser‐Cram, & Warfield, ; Norlin & Broberg, ], coping [Siman‐Tov & Kaniel, ], and burden [Hartley, Barker, Seltzer, Greenberg, & Floyd, ] in families of individuals with ASD and DD.…”

Parent–teacher problem solving about concerns in children with autism spectrum disorder: The role of income and race

“…Based on the current literature, it is unclear whether parents’ and teachers’ general predisposition to communicate is related to the extent that they display the core elements of problem solving. Within families, couples’ ability to problem solve relates to their partners’ behaviors (Hartley, Papp, Blumenstock, Floyd, & Goetz, ). From the current research, we do not know whether teachers’ problem solving behaviors may impact parents’ willingness to problem solve and vice versa.…”