Marital Patterns among Parents to Autistic Children

Hadas Doron, Adi Sharabany

Department of Social Work, Tel-Hai Academic College, Tel-Hai, Israel.

DOI: 10.4236/psych.2013.44063                

Abstract

The present research aims to examine the mental welfare of parents to autistic children, the degree of social support they receive and their perceived satisfaction with it, and how these variables affect their couplehood. The research population included parents of children between the ages of 4 and 17 diagnosed within the autistic spectrum. Each parent (within 33 couples) received a personal questionnaire, which was completed by 32 women and 23 men. The research questionnaire was composed of four measures: demographics; degree of child’s autism; social support; and mental wellbeing and closeness/distance in the marital relationship. We found that social and familial support is statistically related to positive marital relationships and that the older the child, the less emotional wellbeing is felt by the parents and the more distant their relationship.

Keywords

Autistic Children; Marital Relations; Well Being; Social Support

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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