Meredith Mahr-Edmunds, Sharon Green-Hennessy, Ph.D.
Families of Autism: Care-giving Equality, Autism Severity, and Martial Satisfaction
Autistic disorder is a growing concern within psychological and medical fields worldwide
as the diagnosis of autism is on the rise (Fombonne, 2001; 2003a; 2003b; Lui, King,
& Bearman, 2010; Rimland, 2000; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS],
2011). Currently, in the United States, about 1 out of 88 children are diagnosed with
an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), with prevalence rates being similar across countries
and cultures (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2012; HHS, 2011).
Thus, it is important to understand not only the disorder and the children affected
by it, but also how the disorder affects those who care for these children.
Studies consistently report that children with a diagnosis of autism show more severe
and a greater amount of behavioral problems than children without a diagnosis of autism
(Brobst, Clopton, & Hendrick, 2009; Matson & Nebel-Schwalm, 2007), and these behaviors
include those that are difficult for caregivers to cope with and manage (Matson, Mahan,
Hess, Fodstad, & Neal, 2010). The overall stress and strain related to caring for
a child with autism has been correlated with less marital satisfaction (Brobst et
al., 2009; Higgins, Bailey, & Pearce, 2005). Furthermore, mothers have reported that
they carry a disproportionate heavy burden of care-giving in comparison to the children’s
fathers in families with children diagnosed with autism (Bilgin & Kucuk, 2010). Research
has also shown that mothers’ satisfaction with their marriage increased as their spouses
participated in more household responsibilities, including childcare (Essex & Hong,
2005). Thus, there may be an association between marital dissatisfaction and inequality
of care-giving in families with children who are diagnosed with an ASD.
The proposed study will assess not only actual division of care-giving labor between
the parents, but also the parent’s perception of the fairness and choice they had
in the labor division arrangement and how that, in turn, is related to autistic symptom
severity and marital satisfaction. Participants will be parents of a six to 18 year
old child with an ASD who have a partner who resides with them inside the home. Parents
of children with an ASD will complete measures including a demographics questionnaire,
an autism symptom severity measure, the Relationship Assessment Scale, and an equality
in care-giving questionnaire. The final measure will yield a total inequality score,
an actual division of labor subscore, and a satisfaction with choice/fairness subscore.
The following hypotheses will be tested: 1) there will be a significant association
between the child’s autism severity and parental care-giving equality, such that as
the child’s autism symptom severity increases, care-giving equality will decrease,
2) controlling for the child’s autism severity, overall care-giving inequality will
significantly predict marital satisfaction, such that as parental care-giving equality
decreases, marital satisfaction of the child’s parent will also decrease and 3) controlling
for child’s autism severity, both actual reported division of labor and reported satisfaction
with choice/fairness of division of labor will both significantly predict reported
marital satisfaction.