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Examination of Bidirectional Relationships Between Parent Stress and Two Types of Problem Behavior in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

Path analysis within a structural equation modeling framework was employed to examine the relationships between two types of parent stress and children’s externalizing and internalizing behaviors over a 4-year period, in a sample of 184 mothers of young children with autism spectrum disorder. Parent stress was measured with the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form and child behavior was measured with Child Behavior Checklist/1.5–5. Across all time points, parent general distress predicted both types of child behaviors, but not vice versa. In addition, there was modest evidence of a bidirectional relationship between parenting distress and both types of child behaviors from 12 months post-diagnosis to age 6. Results are compared to previous work in this area, with implications for early intervention.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Autism Speaks, the Government of British Columbia, the Alberta Innovates—Health Solutions, and the Sinneave Family Foundation. The authors thank all the families who participated in the Pathways in ASD study. The authors also acknowledge the past and current members of the Pathways in ASD Study Team, who made equal contributions to the study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Anat Zaidman-Zait

    Present address: School of Education, Tel Aviv University, P.O. Box 39040, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel

  2. Peter Szatmari

    Present address: University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

  3. Eric Fombonne

    Present address: Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Anat Zaidman-Zait & Pat Mirenda

  2. McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Eric Duku, Stelios Georgiades & Ann Thompson

  3. University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Joanne Volden & Lonnie Zwaigenbaum

  4. University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Tracy Vaillancourt

  5. IWK Health Sciences Centre/Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    Susan Bryson & Isabel Smith

  6. The Hospital for Sick Children/University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Wendy Roberts

  7. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    Charlotte Waddell

  8. Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Peter Szatmari

  9. McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Eric Fombonne

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  1. Anat Zaidman-Zait
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the Pathways in ASD Study Team

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Correspondence to Anat Zaidman-Zait.

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Zaidman-Zait, A., Mirenda, P., Duku, E. et al. Examination of Bidirectional Relationships Between Parent Stress and Two Types of Problem Behavior in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 44, 1908–1917 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2064-3

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