Author : Kerry Ryan Thompson
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 179 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (11 download)
Book Synopsis Predicting Caregiver and Family Quality of Life for Caregivers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by : Kerry Ryan Thompson
Download or read book Predicting Caregiver and Family Quality of Life for Caregivers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) written by Kerry Ryan Thompson and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is expressed quite differently from person to person due to the spectrum of symptoms an individual may experience. Developmentally, children who have ASD manage issues with communication and restricted or repetitive behaviors that impact their activities of daily living and/or overall functioning (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The ongoing care and assistance for children with ASD from their caregivers is vital to help them achieve and maintain optimal quality of life. Given the pervasive needs of children with ASD, caregivers have a unique role in providing for their child, as compared to caregivers of children without disabilities. The present study explored the caregiver in a family with a child with ASD. Applying a family systems perspective, Bishop's (2005a, 2005b) Disability Centrality Model constructs (i.e. role impact, relationship satisfaction, mastery) were used to explain caregiver and family quality of life. In addition, family quality of life was measured in such a way to incorporate Bishop's idea of centrality, or the importance an individual places on certain areas of life. A three-step statistical analysis was completed in order to better measure this conceptualization. This study included 204 caregivers who met the criteria for the study (i.e., caregiver of a child with ASD under the age of 18; self-reported reading level of 6th grade or above). Hayes' regression based path-analytic framework, PROCESS v2.16 was used to determine the explained variance of caregiver and family quality of life. In addition, correlational and moderation analyses were tested. Results suggested that the caregiver's perceived quality of life is positively correlated with the caregiver's perceived family quality of life. In addition, results indicated that the proposed path analyses explained 52.3% of the variance in caregiver quality of life, 44.4% variance for the weighted family quality of life model, and between 23.1-45.2% variance in the five-individual family quality of life-satisfaction domains (i.e, family interaction, parenting, emotional well-being, physical/material well-being, disability-related support). Finally, to better understand the impact of importance on quality of life, a three-step statistical analysis found that importance was significant when used as a weighted measurement of family quality of life that took the importance and satisfaction in consideration in their relation to one another; however, importance was not significant as a moderator between the relationship of caregiver relationship satisfaction and family quality of life. The findings in this study expand the current literature on caregivers of children with ASD, caregiver quality of life, and family quality of life. In addition, this study demonstrated the viability of strengths-based models of caregiver and family quality of life using Disability Centrality Model constructs through a family systems perspective for a sample of caregivers of children with ASD. Future implications for rehabilitation research and practice are discussed.