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theses

A diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has a significant and pervasive effect on the family unit. Research on parents suggests that both mothers and fathers experience more stress than parents of typically developing individuals and those with other developmental disabilities. This places parents at risk for negative psychosocial outcomes, including depression, anxiety, and marital dissatisfaction. Research on typically developing siblings is much more mixed, however the literature converges to suggest that siblings experience multiple stressors that can place them at risk for a negative outcome as well. Together, these findings indicate that families require high quality support services to address their needs. Over the past several decades, researchers and clinicians have investigated several support options for families, however there have been significant limitations in the ability to disseminate these valuable services to families in need. As such, it is important to measure service access and interest in families of individuals with ASD, and to investigate the factors that facilitate and limit engagement. The present study used an online survey to access 158 families from across the United States who had a child with ASD as well as one typically developing child. The questionnaires included information about family demographics, service engagement variables for parents and siblings, as well as psychosocial variables about the parent and the child with ASD. Parent psychosocial variables included measures of parent stress, psychiatric symptoms, and social support. Symptom severity for the child with ASD was also measured. Results indicated that service engagement varied considerably by demographic variables, including parent and child gender, race, parent education, and child age. Parent interest and perception of services did not correspond to service engagement in this sample. Instead, high ratings of perceived ASD symptom severity, higher levels of parent stress, greater social support, lower endorsement of psychiatric symptoms, and greater perception of parent finances all predicted engagement for both parents and siblings. This study yielded important information about the service needs of families of individuals with ASD, and factors that may contribute to their decision making. The implications of the present findings, limitations, and future directions are also discussed.

ETD_6947

Ph.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Lauren A. Pepa

doi:10.7282/T38G8NR5

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.