Title:
Examining parents of children with autism's perceptions of helpfulness of autism-related social supports and reasons related to perceived helpfulness
Author:
Kathleen A. Fones-Wolf
Committee Member:
Matthew Kirkhart
Committee Member:
Beth Kotchick
Committee Member:
Sharon Green-Hennessy
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola University Maryland
Date Created:
2010
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
reformatted digital
Abstract:
This study examined which social supports parents of children with autism identify as most and least helpful, and why some social supports are perceived to be more or less helpful. Participants were 47 primary caregivers of children with autism who completed questionnaires about demographic characteristics, the severity of their child's autism, their own stress level, and the perceived helpfulness of various social supports and reasons for their perceived helpfulness. The severity of the child's autism was a significant predictor of overall parental stress level as well as each of the PSI subscales. Parents identified their spouses/partners, trained in-home therapist/respite workers, family members, and the child's teacher as the most helpful social supports. They identified religious community members, babysitters, autism spectrum disorder support groups'online, and the child's physician as the least helpful social supports. Regressions suggested that spouses feel helpful due to providing emotional support and expertise, and that family members feel helpful because they provide information and emotional support. Findings might suggest that professionals (i.e. physicians, psychologists) should work to find a way to provide information through less conventional and more easily accessible means. Further, while families appear to be providing emotional support, service agencies might be most helpful in providing practical/physical types of support. The small sample size precluded some analyses and suggested that non-significant regressions be interpreted with caution. Future research should continue to explore reasons for perceived helpfulness of social supports within this population, as well as the related issues of access and need.
Subject:
Parents of autistic children--Social networks
Subject:
Parents of autistic children--Family relationships
Subject:
Stress (Psychology)
Subject:
Austistic children--Services for
Subject:
Childhood Autism Rating Scale--Parent vision
Subject:
Parenting Stress Index--Short Form
Subject:
Autisim Social Support Helpfulness Rating Scale
Subject:
Electronic books
Subject:
Electronic dissertations
Degree:
Doctor of Clinical Psychology
Level:
Doctoral
Discipline:
Psychology
Restrictions on Access:
Author has given permission to make this work available online.
Use and Reproduction:
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Identifier:
Fones-WolfKA-10
