Exploring the Moderating Role of Benefit Finding on the Relationship Between Child Problematic Behaviours and Psychological Distress in Caregivers of Children with ASD

Overview

Journal J Autism Dev Disord

Publisher Springer

Date 2019 Nov 15

PMID 31724121

Citations 7

Authors

Brian Lovell

Mark A Wetherell

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Caregivers of children with ASD often find benefits associated with their caregiving role, and benefit finding predicts lower distress. Child problematic behaviours (CPB), which positively predict caregivers' distress, are perceived to be being less problematic, or more manageable, by caregivers who find benefits. Benefit finding therefore might mitigate the negative psychological impact of CPB. A sample of n = 158 caregivers of children with ASD completed an online survey assessing benefit finding, CPB, and psychological distress. CPB positively, and benefit finding negatively, predicted caregivers' distress. Moderation effects however were not observed. Findings implicate increased CPB and lower benefit finding as risk factors for caregivers' psychological distress. Findings provide clearly definable targets for intervention.

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