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Silver Linings: Optimism and Positivity As Buffers of Stress and Lower Well-Being in Mothers of Adolescents with ASD and Co-Morbid Disorders
Evidence suggests that dispositional optimism is beneficial to one’s health (Carver et al., 2010; Peterson, 2000) and helps maintain positivity during adverse times (Taylor et al., 2010). Specific to mothers of children with ASD or intellectual disability, maternal optimism relates to increased positive affect, decreased negative affect, and more adaptive coping strategies (Blacher et al., 2013). However, these youth have heightened behavior disorders relative to youth with typical cognitive development (Baker & Blacher, 2015), and their parents have further heightened stress related to these disorders. Little is known about how maternal optimism buffers the increased stress and lower sense of well-being experienced by mothers of adolescents with ASD and co-morbid behavior disorders.
Objectives:
We will consider the role of optimism in mothers of teens: (1) Does mothers’ optimism relate to disability status (ASD, intellectual disability (ID) and typical development (TD)? (2) Does optimism buffer the increased stress and psychological difficulties experienced by mothers of youth presenting varying levels of risk? (3) Does the relationship between youth behavior disorders and parenting stress hold across adolescence (ages 13 to 15), and does optimism moderate this relationship at both time-points?
Methods:
This report is drawn from the Collaborative Family Study, a 15-year longitudinal study of behavior and mental disorders in children with or without ID/ASD. We report findings from age 13 and 15 assessments; the sample (N=195) contains youth with TD (IQ >84, n=100), ID (IQ <85, n=40), and ASD (n=58). The primary measure of behavior disorders was the Child Behavior Checklist. Other measures included the Family Impact Questionnaire Positive and Negative sub-scales; Symptom Checklist; and Life Orientation Test. A three-level risk index was determined from the presence of (a) ID and/or ASD, and (b) disruptive behavior diagnoses ADHD and/or ODD. Risk = 0/low (Neither a nor b); 1 (either a or b), or 2/high (both a and b).
Results:
Q1. Mothers’ optimism was modestly (but significantly, p=.04) related to group status (TD>ID>ASD). The presence or absence of co-morbid disruptive behavior disorders (ADHD or ODD) was not related to dispositional optimism. Q2. To study the personality trait of dispositional optimism as a buffer of the relationships between child challenges and maternal well-being, we divided optimism scores into high (optimistic), medium, and low (pessimistic) thirds. The figure (one example) illustrates that psychological symptoms increased dramatically with increasing child risk. Optimism did not make a difference at “low-risk”, but at “high-risk” mothers with low optimism (pessimism) reported a greater than 2.5 times increase in psychological symptoms. Q3. Youth behavior disorders and mothers’ stress both decreased significantly from age 13 to 15, and significantly moreso in the ASD group. We will report the role of maternal optimism in these changes over time.
Conclusions:
Child disability status and child behavior problems/mental disorders take a psychological toll on mothers. However, the personality trait of dispositional optimism buffers these (child risk - parent adjustment) relationships. Not all parents are impacted similarly by youth disability and/or problem behaviors; there is a silver lining for those with more positive perceptions.