Association between perceived social support of parents and emotional/behavioral problems in children with ASD: A chain mediation model.

BACKGROUND

Parental psychosocial factors are associated with emotional/behavioral problems in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but studies investigating their relationships are limited.

AIMS

To explore the relationships between parents' perceived social support, parental resilience, parenting self-efficacy, and emotional/behavioral problems in children with ASD, and the mechanism underlying these relationships.

METHOD

The participants were 289 parents of children with ASD (including fathers and mothers) in China. A survey comprising the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Resilience Scale, Parenting Sense of Competence Scale, and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was administered.

RESULTS

(1) Parents' perceived social support, parental resilience, and parenting self-efficacy were significantly associated with emotional/behavioral problems in children with ASD; (2) parental resilience and parenting self-efficacy were found to play a chain-mediating role in the association between perceived social support of parents and emotional/behavioral problems in children with ASD.

CONCLUSION

It is crucial to improve parents' perceived social support, parental resilience, and parenting self-efficacy to reduce emotional/behavioral problems in children with ASD.