University of Queensland and Bond University, Australia.
Autism. 2012 May;16(3):275-92. doi: 10.1177/1362361311418691. Epub 2011 Sep 26.
Parents of children with Asperger syndrome face many challenges that may lead them to search for meaning by developing explanations for (sense making) and finding benefits (benefit finding) in having a child with special needs. Although family theorists have proposed that finding meaning occurs interpersonally, there is a dearth of empirical research that has examined finding meaning at the couple level. This study examined sense making and benefit finding in 84 couples who have a child with Asperger syndrome by using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (Kenny et al., 2006) to examine actor effects (i.e. the extent to which an individual's score on the predictor variable impacts his or her own level of adjustment) and partner effects (i.e. the extent to which an individual's score on the predictor variable has an impact on his or her partner's level of adjustment) of sense making and benefit finding on parental adjustment. Results demonstrated that parents' benefit finding related to greater anxiety and parents' sense making related to not only their own adjustment but also their partner's adjustment. Results highlight the importance of adopting an interpersonal perspective on finding meaning and adjustment. Limitations, future research and clinical implications are also discussed.
患有艾斯伯格综合征的儿童的父母面临许多挑战，这些挑战可能使他们通过为孩子的特殊需求寻找意义（意义构建）和发现好处（好处发现）来寻求意义。尽管家庭理论家已经提出寻找意义是在人际之间发生的，但很少有实证研究在夫妻层面上考察寻找意义。本研究使用演员-伙伴相互依存模型（Kenny 等人，2006）来检验有艾斯伯格综合征儿童的 84 对夫妇的意义构建和好处发现，检验了演员效应（即个体预测变量得分对其自身适应水平的影响程度）和伙伴效应（即个体预测变量得分对其伴侣适应水平的影响程度）在意义构建和好处发现对父母适应的影响。结果表明，父母的好处发现与更高的焦虑有关，而父母的意义构建不仅与他们自己的适应有关，而且与他们伴侣的适应有关。结果强调了从人际关系的角度看待意义和适应的重要性。还讨论了局限性、未来的研究和临床意义。
