The Association between Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptoms in High-Functioning Male Adolescents and their Mothers' Anxiety and Depression

Title
The Association between Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptoms in High-Functioning Male Adolescents and their Mothers' Anxiety and Depression
Publication Date
2017
Author(s)
Bitsika, Vicki
Sharpley, Christopher
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7922-4848
Email: csharpl3@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:csharpl3
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Springer New York LLC
Place of publication
United States of America
DOI
10.1007/s10882-017-9537-1
UNE publication id
une:22161
Abstract
To assess the impact of their child's symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder upon parents' anxiety and depression, 68 mothers of boys aged 10 to 15 years (M = 12.6 years, SD = 1.6 years) completed the ASD Behaviour Checklist, the GAD7 and the PHQ9 at a single setting. Results indicated that the boys' restricted and repetitive behaviours had the strongest relationship with their mothers anxiety and depression, followed by communication difficulties, but the latter set of behaviours did not significantly add to the variance predicted by restricted and repetitive behaviours. Their sons' intense reactions to stressors was the most powerful ASD-related contributor to the anxiety and depression experienced by these mothers. Several suggestions for enhancing parental coping with this aspect of their child's ASD behavioural symptomatology are discussed.
Link
Citation
Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 29(3), p. 461-473
ISSN
1573-3580
1056-263X
Start page
461
End page
473

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