Abstract
Hopelessness in parents has implications for parents' own well-being as well as their ability to meet the needs of their children. In the present study, we examined the effect of maladaptive behaviors in children with autism on parental hopelessness, with particular attention to whether parental reflective functioning would moderate the effect of maladaptive behaviors on parental hopelessness. Our sample included 68 parents of children with autism between the ages of 3 and 18. Findings revealed a significant positive relationship between maladaptive behaviors in the children and hopelessness in the parents. Moreover, parental reflective functioning moderated the effect of child maladaptive behaviors on parental hopelessness, such that children's maladaptive behaviors were positively associated with parental hopelessness in parents with low (but not high) reflective functioning. Findings suggest parental reflective functioning may be a protective factor against parental hopelessness, and thus a possible target for interventions for hopelessness in parents whose children with autism exhibit greater maladaptive behaviors.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 106-112 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Autism Research |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 5 Nov 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Keywords
- adults
- affect/emotion
- children
- clinical psychology
- restricted/repetitive behaviors
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Neuroscience
- Clinical Neurology
- Genetics(clinical)