mothers depressionautistic children does it increase their troubles? About 50% of all mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have high levels of depressive symptoms over 18 months, while the rates are much lower (6% to 13.6%) for mothers children without autism during the same period. This is what researchers from the University of California San Francisco report in a new study published on August 26 in the journal Family Process. However, the depression of mothers of autistic children does not increase their children’s symptoms according to the study.
Autistic child: maternal depression does not worsen symptoms
Indeed, while previous studies suggest that having a depressed parent increases the risk of children having mental health and behavioral problems, this study demonstrates the opposite. The researchers assure that “the higher symptoms of depression in the mothers do not predict the increase in behavioral problems in children over time”.
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“We found that higher depression symptoms in mothers did not predict increased behavioral problems in children over time, including families with a autistic child who are under a lot of stress,” said Danielle Roubinov, assistant professor at the University of California San Francisco in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and lead author of the study. For her, “it was a surprise and a good news”.
A discovery to alleviate the guilt of mothers
To reach these conclusions, the researchers repeatedly measured maternal depression and child behavior problems with autistic disorders in 86 mother-child pairs over 18 months. Half of the mothers had children with ASD and the other half had children withoutautism, called “neurotypical”. The children were all between 2 and 16 years old. According to the University of California San Francisco release on this study, maternal depression was measured using the Depressive Symptom Inventory, a self-report scale completed by mothers. The child’s behavior was measured by his mother’s report on the Child’s Challenging Behavior Scale, which focuses on externalizing behaviors such as temper tantrums, aggression and defiance.
The lack of correlation between maternal depression and symptoms of autistic children is a major discovery in order to relieve the guilt of helping mothers who are very much in demand to accompany their child suffering from autism spectrum disorders. “The finding that maternal depression does not lead to worsening of child symptoms is particularly important for mothers of children with ASD, as it contributes to alleviate the guilt that many mothers feel about the diagnosis and the behavioral problems of their children,” said Danielle Roubinov.
Autism in children: mothers’ stress is normal
“We hope these results will reassure mothers that there is is both normal to suffer from some depression in this stressful situation s high what a child’s chronic care is, and that their depression is not likely to make their child’s behavior problems worse,” says the researcher. Previous research by the team of scientists found that self-blame and guilt are common among parents ofchildren with ASD and that they predict worsening depression and lower overall life satisfaction over time.
“Parenting a child with special needs is inherently a daily challengenoted Elissa Epel, a UCSF professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. parents to help them deal with parenting stress.