Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Oct;27(4):e12391.
doi: 10.1111/jspn.12391. Epub 2022 Aug 20.

Quality of life of parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An integrative literature review

Dawn Turnage  1 , Norma Conner  1
Affiliations
Review

Quality of life of parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An integrative literature review

Dawn Turnage et al. J Spec Pediatr Nurs. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Purpose: This paper presents an integrated literature review of the quality of life (QOL) in parents of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The rate of ASD is increasing. Parents of children with ASD have higher levels of stress and burden, which may lead to lower QOL.

Design and methods: A comprehensive, electronic search was performed to retrieve 15 relevant articles, including 5565 participants. An integrative review was performed to appraise and synthesize findings.

Results: QOL was found to be lower in parents of children with ASD in physical, psychological, and social health and in spirituality, as compared with adults who were not parents of children with ASD. The strongest risk factor for parental QOL was the severity of the diagnosis of ASD. Protective factors for parental QOL were parent education level and levels of severity of ASD in the child.

Practice implications: Nurses can support families impacted by ASD, particularly severe ASD, through tailored resources to support early diagnosis and intervention, through the support of policies affecting low-income families, and through increased awareness of severe ASD and its' impact on the child and the family.

Keywords: ASD; QOL; autism; caregiver; caregiver burden; quality of life.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. American Psychiatric Association. (APA). (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.) American Psychiatric Association.
    1. Baghdadli, A., Pry, R., Michelon, C., & Rattaz, C. (2014). Impact of autism in adolescents on parental quality of life. Quality of Life Research: An International Journal of Quality of Life Aspects of Treatment, Care & Rehabilitation, 23(6), 1859-1868. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-014-0635-6
    1. Benjak, T. (2011). Subjective quality of life for parents of children with autism spectrum disorders in Croatia. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 6(1), 91-102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-010-9114-6
    1. Cappe, E., Wolff, M., Bobet, R., & Adrien, J. (2011). Quality of life: A key variable to consider in the evaluation of adjustment in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders and in the development of relevant support and assistance programmes. Quality of Life Research: An International Journal of Quality of Life Aspects of Treatment, Care & Rehabilitation, 20(8), 1279-1294. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-011-9861-3
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2016a). Autism spectrum disorder: Data & statistics. Retrieved July 1, 2016 from www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html