Predictors of Caregiver Strain for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Jessica Bradshaw¹, Scott Gillespie², Courtney McCracken², Bryan H King³, James T McCracken⁴, Cynthia R Johnson⁵, Luc Lecavalier⁶, Tristram Smith⁷, Naomi Swiezy⁸, Karen Bearss^{9

10}, Linmarie Sikich¹¹, Craig Donnelly¹², Eric Hollander¹³, Christopher J McDougle^{14

15

16}, Lawrence Scahill^{17

18}

Affiliations

¹ University of South Carolina, 1800 Gervais St., Columbia, SC, 29201, USA.
² Emory-Children's-Georgia Tech Pediatric Research Alliance, 2015 Uppergate Drive, Atlanta, GA, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Benioff Children's Hospitals, University of California San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Ave., Suite LP 358, San Francisco, CA, 94143-0984, USA.
⁴ Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA.
⁵ Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, EC-10 Cleveland Clinic, 9501 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA.
⁶ Nisonger Center, Ohio State University, 1581 Dodd Dr #357, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
⁷ University of Rochester Medical Center School of Medicine and Dentistry, 601 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA.
⁸ Indiana University Riley Hospital for Children, 705 Riley Hospital Dr #4300, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
⁹ Seattle Children's Autism Center and Research Institute, 4909 25th Avenue, Northeast, Seattle, Washington, 98105, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, 1959 Northeast Pacific Street, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
¹¹ Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, 2608 Erwin Rd, Suite 300, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.
¹² Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, 1 Medical Center Dr, Lebanon, NH, 03766, USA.
¹³ Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Psychiatric Research Institute at Montefiore-Einstein, 1225 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA.
¹⁴ Lurie Center for Autism, 1 Maguire Rd, Lexington, MA, 02421, USA.
¹⁵ Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA.
¹⁶ Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, 2015 Uppergate Dr, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA. lawrence.scahill@emory.edu.
¹⁸ Marcus Autism Center, 1920 Briarcliff Rd., Atlanta, GA, 30324, USA. lawrence.scahill@emory.edu.

PMID: 33151499
PMCID: PMC10860166
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04625-x

Predictors of Caregiver Strain for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Jessica Bradshaw et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2021 Sep.

. 2021 Sep;51(9):3039-3049.

doi: 10.1007/s10803-020-04625-x.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ University of South Carolina, 1800 Gervais St., Columbia, SC, 29201, USA.
² Emory-Children's-Georgia Tech Pediatric Research Alliance, 2015 Uppergate Drive, Atlanta, GA, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Benioff Children's Hospitals, University of California San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Ave., Suite LP 358, San Francisco, CA, 94143-0984, USA.
⁴ Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA.
⁵ Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, EC-10 Cleveland Clinic, 9501 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA.
⁶ Nisonger Center, Ohio State University, 1581 Dodd Dr #357, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
⁷ University of Rochester Medical Center School of Medicine and Dentistry, 601 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA.
⁸ Indiana University Riley Hospital for Children, 705 Riley Hospital Dr #4300, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
⁹ Seattle Children's Autism Center and Research Institute, 4909 25th Avenue, Northeast, Seattle, Washington, 98105, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, 1959 Northeast Pacific Street, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
¹¹ Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, 2608 Erwin Rd, Suite 300, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.
¹² Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, 1 Medical Center Dr, Lebanon, NH, 03766, USA.
¹³ Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Psychiatric Research Institute at Montefiore-Einstein, 1225 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA.
¹⁴ Lurie Center for Autism, 1 Maguire Rd, Lexington, MA, 02421, USA.
¹⁵ Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA.
¹⁶ Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, 2015 Uppergate Dr, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA. lawrence.scahill@emory.edu.
¹⁸ Marcus Autism Center, 1920 Briarcliff Rd., Atlanta, GA, 30324, USA. lawrence.scahill@emory.edu.

PMID: 33151499
PMCID: PMC10860166
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04625-x

Abstract

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face higher levels of caregiver strain compared to parents of children with other disabilities. This study examined child clinical features that predict high levels of caregiver strain for 374 parents of children with ASD. Caregiver strain was measured using the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire (CGSQ) objective, subjective internalized, and subjective externalized subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated an acceptable fit for the original CGSQ three-factor solution. The strongest child predictors across CGSQ subscales were: disruptive behavior for objective strain, autism severity and disruptive behavior for subjective internalized strain, and oppositional behavior and hyperactivity for subjective externalized strain. Individualized interventions that attend to specific elements of parental strain may reduce strain and improve family wellbeing.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Caregiver strain; Disruptive behavior; Stress; Wellbeing.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

References

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Predictors of Caregiver Strain for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Affiliations

Predictors of Caregiver Strain for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

References

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical