| Parents raising children with diagnoses on the autistic spectrum commonly experience individual stress and marital discord, taxing family systems on which there is already an increased demand. This current study was designed to evaluate the effects of a parent training intervention on marital and parenting satisfaction. The intervention did not improve functioning, which is consistent with literature suggesting that parents benefit more from communal support networks than didactic interventions. Parents in this study reported unexpectedly high satisfaction in both pre and post measures, which may be either a result of selection bias or a function of resiliency and coping. Future research should include analysis of mediating factors on stress, depression, and satisfaction to better understand the methods of coping and adaptation that have been useful for these families. |
