Mental health, broad autism phenotype and psychological inflexibility in mothers of young children with autism spectrum disorder in Australia: A cross-sectional survey.

Abstract

Mothers of children with autism tend to have poorer mental health outcomes compared to most mothers. Lack of social support, parenting challenges and relationship difficulties are more common for mothers of children with autism and can all affect maternal mental health. Mothers of children with autism are also more likely to have some autistic features, called the broad autism phenotype, that can contribute to poorer mental health; however, how these factors relate to one another are unclear. This study found that mothers who were less flexible in their thinking and behaviour and had more difficult parenting experiences tended to have poorer mental health. Mothers with more autistic features were less flexible in their thinking and behaviour, which, in turn, was linked to greater symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. Mothers with greater autistic features also reported more difficult parenting experiences, which was in turn linked with greater symptoms of anxiety and depression. This study suggests that supporting mothers of young children with autism to manage parenting challenges and become more flexible with their thinking and behaviour could help to improve their mental health.