Relationship between the child's level of functioning and mother-father relationship quality and between the levels of post-traumatic symptoms in parents of children with autism (Hebrew)

Raising a child with a developmental disability places parents at greater risk for psychological distress and heightened stress levels compared to parents of typically developing children  (Matthews et al., 2021; Flynn, 2020). This study focuses on parenting a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is known to elicit increased stress among parents (Shivers et al., 2019; Sadeghi et al., 2022), often exceeding the stress experienced by parents of children with other developmental disabilities (Seeridaram & Rashid, 2023; Bradshaw et al., 2021).

ASD, as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5, 2013), is characterized by significant difficulties in social interactions and communication, along with restricted and repetitive behavior patterns. Research indicates that the challenges of parenting a child with autism meet criterion A in DSM-5 for a traumatic event and may lead to post-traumatic symptoms (Feng et al., 2022) or even Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Schnabel et al., 2020). However, some studies suggest that parents of children with disabilities can experience life satisfaction comparable to other parents (Hastings, 2016), indicating protective factors may mitigate negative consequences.

This study examined whether marital quality moderates the relationship between a child's functioning and parents' development of post-traumatic symptoms, while controlling for years of marriage. Results revealed that among various aspects of marital quality, leisure time quality specifically moderated the relationship between child functioning and parental post-traumatic symptoms. When parents reported high-quality leisure time together, the negative impact of a child's functioning difficulties on parental post-traumatic symptoms was reduced. These findings have important implications for therapeutic interventions aimed at supporting parents' mental well-being and enhancing their ability to cope with the challenges of raising a child with autism.