Are we on the Same Page: a DyadicAnalysis of Parental Stress, Support, and Family Quality of Life on Raising Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Family systems are dynamic and interconnected, yet very limited research has considered both fathers’ and mothers’ perceptions of family support, stress and Family Quality of Life (FQOL) in a dynamic manner, especially in the Chinese context. The current study examines the association between parenting stress, FQOL and family support using a dyadic approach. We employed the actor-partner interdependence mediation model (APIMeM) to analyze a sample (N = 219 dyads) of Chinese fathers’ and mothers’ of children with autism spectrum disorder. Results suggested a strong actor effect of family support on decreasing stress and improving FQOL for mother and father respectively. However, the partner effect was largely contrasted with mothers’ perceived family support and positively associated with fathers’ FQOL, and fathers’ perceived family support negatively associated with mothers’ FQOL. There were no mediating effects of stress on partners’ perceived support on FQOL. Despite being in a family system, the contrast pattern (opposite direction of the effects) between mothers and fathers suggest large discrepancies and perceptions, which may be due to different family roles and parenting involvement. Policy and practical implications are provided.