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Coherence of Representations Regarding the Child, Resolution of the Child’s Diagnosis and Emotional Availability: A Study of Arab-Israeli Mothers of Children with ASD

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Abstract

This study examined the interplay of mothers’ coherent representations of their child (i.e., multidimensional and balanced view); resolution of the child’s ASD diagnosis (i.e., acceptance); and emotional availability to the child in the unique cultural context of Arab-Israeli families. Participants were 46 mothers and their 2–8 year old sons. Coherent representations and resolution of the diagnosis were assessed using narrative measures. Emotional availability (namely, sensitivity, structuring, and lack of intrusiveness and hostility) was observed during mother–child play interactions. Results suggested that coherent and resolved mothers were more emotionally available than incoherent and/or unresolved mothers. These findings highlight the importance of supporting mothers’ ability to accept the child’s diagnosis and see the unique characteristics of the child beyond his ASD symptoms.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Herta and Paul Amir Faculty of Social Science, the University of Haifa, Israel. We express our sincere gratitude to the families who participated in this research. The article is based in part on master’s theses by Nagham Baransi and Kholud Amara. A version of the paper was presented in May 2016 at the 15th World Congress of the World Association for Infant Mental Health, Prague, Czech Republic.

Author Contributions

ESC conceived of the study, participated in data coding, performed the statistical analysis and drafted the manuscript; SD conceived of the study, participated in data coding, performed the statistical analysis and drafted the manuscript; MS participated in data collection and coding; NB participated in designing the study and in data collection and coding; KA participated in data coding. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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  1. Efrat Sher-Censor and Smadar Dolev made equal contributions to this article.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Center for the Study of Child Development, The University of Haifa, Rabin Building, 199 Aba Khoushy Ave., Mount Carmel, 3498838, Haifa, Israel

    Efrat Sher-Censor, Marwa Said, Nagham Baransi & Kholud Amara

  2. Oranim College of Education, Hafia, Israel

    Smadar Dolev

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  1. Efrat Sher-Censor
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  2. Smadar Dolev
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Correspondence to Efrat Sher-Censor.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Human Research Review Board of the participating university and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments.

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Informed consent was obtained in writing from all participating mothers included in the study.

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Sher-Censor, E., Dolev, S., Said, M. et al. Coherence of Representations Regarding the Child, Resolution of the Child’s Diagnosis and Emotional Availability: A Study of Arab-Israeli Mothers of Children with ASD. J Autism Dev Disord 47, 3139–3149 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3228-8

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