An ecological exploration of individual, family, and environmental contributions to parental quality of life in autism

The aim of this study was to assess the respective weight of individual and environmental factors on quality of life (Qol) of parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Few studies have investigated both individual and environmental predictors of Qol but to our knowledge, none of them has considered the child's and parents' characteristics, family context and services available in the same design. Participants were 115 parents (73 mothers and 42 fathers) of children with ASD aged from 3 to 10 years. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to investigate predictors of parental Qol among child-related, parent-related and environmental factors. Findings indicate that a higher Qol is associated with a good quality of interaction in marital and parent-grandparents dyads, no family medical history and access to psycho-educational interventions for the child, regardless of child's developmental quotient, comorbidity, parent sex and working time. This final model best fits the data and explains 31.5% of the variance of parents' Qol. This study highlights that it is crucial to consider both individual and environmental variables as potential protective factors of parental adjustment. An ecological approach seems to be relevant to understand which parenting resources should be targeted in support programs.