Trajectories of Emotional Well-Being in Mothers of Adolescents and Adults With Autism
Trajectories of Emotional Well-Being in Mothers of Adolescents and Adults With Autism
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DOI：
10.1037/a0021268
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发表时间：
2011-03-01
影响因子：
4
通讯作者：
Orsmond, Gael I.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Barker, Erin T.;Hartley, Sigan L.;Orsmond, Gael I.
养育有发育障碍的青少年或成年儿童给父母带来了特殊的照看挑战。我们研究了患有自闭症谱系障碍的青春期和成年儿童的两个情绪健康指标(抑郁症状和焦虑)的轨迹，样本主要是高加索母亲(N=379；时间1的M年龄=51.22岁；时间1的M年龄=21.91岁，73.2%是男性)。我们还调查了儿童情境时变协变量(自闭症症状、行为问题、居住状况)和母亲情境时变协变量(社会支持网络规模和压力家庭事件)与情绪幸福感轨迹的人内关联。在10年的时间里，数据收集了5次。稳定(抑郁症状)和改善(焦虑)情绪幸福感的平均模式很明显，幸福感轨迹对儿童和母亲背景变量的波动都很敏感。在行为问题越严重的情况下，抑郁症状和焦虑就越高。在成年的孩子搬出家之后，焦虑情绪会降低。当社会支持网络规模较小、经历压力较大的生活事件时，焦虑程度会更高。这些结果对患有自闭症儿童的中老年家庭以及为这些家庭提供服务的人有一定的影响。
Raising an adolescent or adult child with a developmental disability confers exceptional caregiving challenges on parents. We examined trajectories of 2 indicators of emotional well-being (depressive symptoms and anxiety) in a sample of primarily Caucasian mothers (N = 379; M-age = 51.22 years at Time 1) of adolescent and adult children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD; M-age = 21.91 years at Time 1, 73.2% male). We also investigated within-person associations of child context time-varying covariates (autism symptoms, behavior problems, residential status) and maternal context time-varying covariates (social support network size and stressful family events) with the trajectories of emotional well-being. Data were collected on 5 occasions across a 10-year period. Average patterns of stable (depressive symptoms) and improved (anxiety) emotional well-being were evident, and well-being trajectories were sensitive to fluctuations in both child and maternal context variables. On occasions when behavior problems were higher, depressive symptoms and anxiety were higher. On occasions after which the grown child moved out of the family home, anxiety was lower. Anxiety was higher on occasions when social support networks were smaller and when more stressful life events were experienced. These results have implications for midlife and aging families of children with an ASD and those who provide services to these families.