The Roles of Marginalization and Empowerment on Indicators of System Navigation and Mental Health for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
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Date
2020-09-24
Authors
Salgado, Rod
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may experience stressors in the form of aversion, prejudicial judgement, and discrimination from others for having a child with a disability. These aversive experiences impact their community involvement as well as their mental health. Despite marginalizing experiences, parents may demonstrate psychosocial characteristics, such as empowerment, that promote their community participation. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of perceived ASD stigmatization and empowerment on the quality of involvement within institutions (e.g., schools) and the relationship of ASD stigmatization with caregiver depression. The sample was comprised of forty-one caregivers of children with ASD between the ages of 7 and 13 years (M = 9.54; SD = 1.69). Caregiver age ranged from 27 to 55 years (M age = 41.02; SD = 6.25). Of the sample, 97.6% of parents felt individuals with autism were stigmatized, with 30% reporting ASD stigma has been very or extremely difficult for family functioning. Child adaptive behavior, family income burden, and caregiver depression were all associated with ASD stigmatization. Main findings suggest empowerment significantly predicts family involvement beyond the negative impact of ASD stigmatization. Perceived difficulty of ASD stigmatization significantly predicts caregiver depression beyond the impact of other forms of discrimination. Given the heightened risk and potential impact of stigmatization for parents of children with ASD, there is a need to understand the underlying psychosocial and systemic mechanisms that may ameliorate or affect the ways in which families interact with their communities.
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Keywords
autism, disability, family well-being, stigma