Emotional Difficulties in Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that parents of children with ASD are at a greater risk of increased stress and mental health problems (e.g., Totsika et al., 2011). Children with ASD have several emotional difficulties such as increased reactivity, difficulties with emotion regulation, and higher levels of alexithymia, which have been reported to be more important in the explanation of parents’ difficulties than child’s diagnosis (ASD/non-ASD; Herring et al., 2006). Family is the primary context where children learn emotional display and regulation rules and often parents and children share similar emotional styles. Therefore, it is possible that parents of children with ASD also present more emotional difficulties than parents of typically developing (TD) children. 

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to analyze if parents of children with ASD present more emotional difficulties than parents of TD children and whether emotional difficulties in parents are related to their children’s difficulties.  

Methods: Seventy-eight dyads of parents-children participated in the study. Thirty-seven children were diagnosed with ASD and forty-one were TD children. Parent self-report, parent-informant report, and physiological measures were used as indicators of emotional difficulties in parents and children.  

Results: t-tests revealed that parents of children with ASD reported significantly more difficulties with emotion regulation [t(64) = -2.36, p < .05], reported using less reappraisal [t(76) = 2.13, p < .05], and had lower respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) at rest [t(45) = 2.55, p < .05] than parents of TD children. Parent-reported emotional reactivity in children was related to parents’ self-reports of difficulties with emotion regulation [r = .37, p < .01], to self-report use of less reappraisal [r = -.35, p < .01], and to lower RSA [r = -.30, p < .05]. Additionally, lower RSA in children was related to parents’ self-reported difficulties with emotion regulation [r = -.26, p < .05]. Two-path mediations revealed an indirect effect of children’s parent-reported emotional reactivity in the relation between child’s diagnostic and parents’ self-reported difficulties with emotion regulation [b = 6.67, к²= .15; b = 2.27, к²= .06] and an indirect effect of children’s RSA in the relation between child’s diagnostic and parents’ self-reported use of less reappraisal [b = -0.44, к²= .15]. 

Conclusions: Although causality between emotional difficulties in parents and children with ASD could not be determined, the present study offers strong evidence for the presence of emotional difficulties in parents of children with ASD. Furthermore, it is suggested that emotional difficulties in children might play a determinant role in the understanding of emotional difficulties of parents that goes beyond their child’s diagnostic (ASD/non-ASD).