Trajectories of Emotional Well-Being in Mothers of Adolescents and Adults With Autism

• Published in: Developmental psychology 2011-03, Vol.47 (2), p.551-561
• Main Authors: Barker, Erin T., Hartley, Sigan L., Seltzer, Marsha Mailick, Floyd, Frank J., Greenberg, Jan S., Orsmond, Gael I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Adults; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Anxiety; Anxiety - physiopathology; Anxiety - psychology; Anxiety-Depression; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Autistic children; Autistic Disorder - complications; Autistic Disorder - psychology; Autistic spectrum disorders; Behavior Problems; Behavioural psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Caregiver Burden; Caregivers; Caregivers - psychology; Child Rearing; Children; Context Effect; Coping Behavior; Depression; Depression (Psychology); Depression - physiopathology; Developmental Disabilities; Emotional wellbeing; Emotions; Emotions - physiology; Family Environment; Female; Human; Humans; Linear Models; Longitudinal Studies; Major Depression; Male; Medical sciences; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Mother-Child Relations; Mothers; Mothers - psychology; Multivariate Analysis; Personal Satisfaction; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Predictive Value of Tests; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Residential Programs; Social support; Social Support Groups; Stress Variables; Surveys and Questionnaires; Symptoms; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Teenagers; Time Factors; Well Being; Whites
• ISSN: 0012-1649; 1939-0599
• DOI: 10.1037/a0021268

Raising an adolescent or adult child with a developmental disability confers exceptional caregiving challenges on parents. We examined trajectories of 2 indicators of emotional well-being (depressive symptoms and anxiety) in a sample of primarily Caucasian mothers (N = 379; Mage = 51.22 years at Time 1) of adolescent and adult children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD; Mage = 21.91 years at Time 1, 73.2% male). We also investigated within-person associations of child context time-varying covariates (autism symptoms, behavior problems, residential status) and maternal context time-varying covariates (social support network size and stressful family events) with the trajectories of emotional well-being. Data were collected on 5 occasions across a 10-year period. Average patterns of stable (depressive symptoms) and improved (anxiety) emotional well-being were evident, and well-being trajectories were sensitive to fluctuations in both child and maternal context variables. On occasions when behavior problems were higher, depressive symptoms and anxiety were higher. On occasions after which the grown child moved out of the family home, anxiety was lower. Anxiety was higher on occasions when social support networks were smaller and when more stressful life events were experienced. These results have implications for midlife and aging families of children with an ASD and those who provide services to these families.