Parental Characteristics Research Articles

Parental mentalization across cultures: Mind-mindedness and parental reflective functioning in British and South Korean mothers.

Differences in mind-mindedness and parental reflective functioning (PRF) were investigated in mothers and their 6-month-old infants from South Korea (N=66, 32 girls) and the United Kingdom (N=63, 26 girls). Mind-mindedness was assessed in terms of appropriate and non-attuned mind-related comments during infant-mother interaction; PRF was assessed using a questionnaire. British mothers commented more on infant desires and preferences, whereas Korean mothers commented more on cognitions and emotions, but there were no cultural differences in overall levels of mind-mindedness. For PRF, Korean mothers reported more certainty about their infants' mental states compared with their British counterparts, but there were no cultural differences in mothers' reported interest in their infants' mental states. Greater reported certainty about infants' mental states was positively related to self-reported parenting quality in both cultural groups, but this association was not seen for parenting quality as assessed observationally. Mind-mindedness and PRF were unrelated in both Korean and British mothers. Results are discussed in terms of the Korean concept of mother-infant oneness and the multi-dimensional nature of parental mentalization.

Reliability of the Unilateral Hearing Loss in Youth Instrument for Children With Single-Sided Deafness.

While general practice parameter recommendations for children with unilateral hearing loss or single-sided deafness (SSD) have been published, clinically utilized subjective instruments specifically designed to assess this population are scarce. Treatment options are evaluated using audiometric data, speech perception data, and quality of life instruments. The Unilateral Hearing Loss in Youth (uniHELO) is a subjective assessment instrument that aims to evaluate the listening challenges in this population, but it has not yet been studied in a clinical setting. This study examined the reliability of the uniHELO among children with SSD. This was a prospective within-subject study. Nine patients with SSD, aged 8-14 years, were enrolled. Participants had not used a personal hearing device for at least 6 months prior to enrollment. The uniHELO instrument was administered at two clinic visits separated by 3-4 weeks. For comparison, the Pediatric and Parent Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ) instruments were administered during the same visits. uniHELO scores were not significantly different between the first and second visits. The correlations of scale scores over time were: .96 for the uniHELO, which suggests excellent test-retest reliability; .84 for the Parent SSQ, which also suggests excellent test-retest reliability; and .27 for the Pediatric SSQ, which suggests poor test-retest reliability compared to the Parent SSQ and uniHELO. Within-subject scale uniHELO scores between clinic visits showed excellent test-retest reliability across items. The test-retest reliability scores for the uniHELO were also stronger than those for the Parent and Pediatric SSQ. These data support the use of the uniHELO to evaluate listening challenges in children with SSD.

The effect of family upbringing model on social cognitive development of adolescents

The family upbringing model is a generalized summary of various parenting characteristics, it has been shown to affect the development of adolescents. However, the impact of different parenting styles and other family factors on the development of adolescents' social cognition has not been collated and summarized. We mainly used the index words “parenting styles” and “family upbringing models” to search in PubMed and Web of Science database. We selected the articles published between 2004 and 2024 for summary and analysis and found 10174 items. A total of 66 articles related to adolescent social cognitive development were screened for inclusion in the study. In the search process, we also included keywords such as “family rearing patterns” to ensure the literature obtained was as comprehensive as possible. Finally, based on Diana Baumrind's theory of family parenting patterns and Albert Bandura's social cognition theory, this paper explores the effects of attachment relationships, family structure, parenting styles, and other family factors on adolescents' social cognitive development. The results show the positive effects of good family upbringing patterns on adolescent cognitive development and the negative effects of undesirable factors on adolescent development.

The effects of parental marital quality on preschool children's social-emotional competence: The chain mediating model of parent-child and sibling relationships.

With the swift advancements in China's education system and society, preschool children's social-emotional competence is becoming increasingly important for adapting to complicated situations. While research shows parental marital quality as a key factor, studies on its specific mechanisms within the Chinese context are limited. Grounded in the framework of family systems theory and incorporating perspectives from the spillover hypothesis, emotional security theory, and attachment theory, this research explores how parental marital quality influences preschool children's social-emotional competence, emphasizing the mediating roles of parent-child and sibling relationships in China. This study examined 227 preschool children (124 boys and 103 girls) from two-child families in six kindergartens across China as research participants. Mother reports on the quality of marital, sibling, and parent-child relationships were collected cross-sectionally to assess the direct and indirect effects on children's social-emotional competence using path models. Results show that parental marital quality positively influences preschool children's social-emotional competence. Additionally, parent-child and sibling relationships not only serve as independent mediators but also create a chain mediating effect. This finding emphasizes the importance of parental marital quality in shaping preschool children's social-emotional competence. It underscores the necessity of nurturing healthy parent-child and sibling interactions via family education.

A Longitudinal Examination of Autism Services, Child Adaptive Functioning, and Parent Quality of Life during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The delivery of services to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was disrupted during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which may have affected child functioning and caregiver quality of life (QoL). This study examined changes in service intensity, child adaptive functioning, and caregiver QoL during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were 146 caregivers (87% mothers) of children with ASD (M age = 8.22 years; SD = 4.21) who were invited to complete an online survey about service intensity, child functioning, and caregiver QoL at four time points between the summer of 2020 and the summer of 2021. Simple regressions indicated that child adaptive functioning and caregiver QoL increased over time after stay-at-home orders were lifted. Fixed effects regression models indicated that increases in service intensity were associated with concurrent increases in caregiver physical QoL. Decreases in child repetitive behaviors were associated with concurrent increases in caregiver social and environmental QoL. These findings suggest that children and their caregivers demonstrated resilience in the year after stay-at-home orders were lifted. Additionally,service intensity and child repetitive behaviors may impact caregiver QoL, making these variables areas of opportunity for stakeholders and professionals.

Parents' demographic characteristics and their involvement in student retention in Kwimba District, Tanzania

Students whose parents are actively involved in their education are more likely to develop a positive attitude toward schooling and to persist in their studies. A significant challenge affecting student retention in schools is the lack of parental involvement in their children's education. This study explores the relationship between the demographic characteristics of parents and their participation in promoting student retention in secondary schools within Kwimba District. Data were gathered using a questionnaire administered to 126 respondents, selected through simple random sampling. To analyze the data, the Mann-Whitney U Test and Kruskal-Wallis Test were employed to assess the relationships among various demographic factors of the respondents, including gender, age, education level, marital status, and employment status. The results revealed that there was no significant correlation found between home-based parental involvement for student retention in secondary schools and the parent's age, gender, or marital status. The findings indicate a significant correlation between parents' work status and their children's educational attainment. These results underscore the importance of parental involvement in enhancing student retention, highlighting the necessity for targeted interventions to promote such engagement. Increased parental participation, particularly in home-based educational activities, has the potential to substantially decrease dropout rates and improve attendance, ultimately leading to better educational outcomes. The study suggests that parents, regardless of their educational backgrounds or employment statuses, should be encouraged to actively support and motivate their children in academic pursuits to enhance their retention in school.

Russian Immigrant Families’ Child Care Selection in the United States

AbstractResearch on immigrant populations shows that child care choices are dependent on the population’s region of origin. While the Russian immigrant population in the United States comprises the largest group of immigrants from Eastern Europe and is likely to increase in the future, there is virtually no research on Russian immigrant families’ child care search and selection criteria. This qualitative study applies the theoretical model of Pungello and Kurtz-Costes (1999), which illustrates how factors such as parental demographic characteristics, environmental context, child characteristics, and parental beliefs play into families’ child care selection. The study draws from semi-structured interviews with 11 Russian immigrant families residing in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States to examine their child care search processes and selection criteria. Results revealed that most parents found child care through friends’ recommendations, Internet search, and online reviews. Nine themes describing child care criteria valued by Russian immigrant families emerged from the analysis. Specifically, parents mentioned culture and personal beliefs, child characteristics, convenience, cost and subsidy, education and learning, program features, facilities and environment, teacher characteristics, and rating and reputation as the major factors in selecting child care. Understanding Russian immigrant parents’ child care information sources and selection criteria will allow for early care and education (ECE) providers to accommodate the needs of Russian immigrant population and for policymakers to facilitate access to ECE programs for these families.

Assessing Whether Negative Parenting Cognitions Bias Parent Report of Preschoolers' Externalizing Symptoms: A Regularized Moderated Non-Linear Factor Analysis Approach.

Parent report is frequently used to assess children's psychopathology, however, researchers have expressed concerns about the validity of parent reports. Some parental characteristics, attitudes, or beliefs may systematically bias a parent's report of their child's behaviors and functioning. Informed by social information processing models of parenting risk, parents with more difficulties reflecting on and interpreting their children's behavior may be at risk for less accurate reports. The present study conducted two regularized moderated non-linear factor analyses with LONGSCAN data to examine how parents' self-reported negative parenting cognitions were associated with structural parameters of parent-reported child aggression and attention problems. While differential item functioning (DIF) was present on the aggression and attention problems subscales as a function of negative parenting cognitions, the DIF was small in magnitude, inconsistent in directionality and did not significantly alter factor-level parameters. Negative parenting cognitions did demonstrate a small but significant negative impact on all latent externalizing factors (aggression and attention problems), such that caregivers with fewer negative parenting cognitions endorsed fewer items, and this was associated with a lower mean of each latent variable. Given that accounting for DIF did not contribute to meaningful differences in impact parameters or improve criterion validity, findings suggest that the aggression and attention subscales are functionally invariant to negative parenting cognitions, suggesting that externalizing symptoms can be reliability compared across parents of varying parenting cognitions.

Determinants of socioemotional and behavioral well-being among First Nations children living off-reserve in Canada: A cross-sectional study.

Few studies have focused on off-reserve Indigenous children and families. This nationally representative, cross-sectional study (data collected from 2006 to 2007) examined Indigenous- and non-Indigenous-specific determinants associated with positive socioemotional and behavioral well-being among First Nations children living off-reserve in Canada. The parents or other caregivers of 2990 two-to-five-year-old children (M = 3.65; 50.6% male) reported on their children's socioemotional and behavioral well-being and a range of child, parent, and housing characteristics. Being taught an Indigenous culture, greater community cohesion, caregiver nurturance, good parental/other caregiver health, and fewer household members were associated with better socioemotional and behavioral well-being. These results highlight the importance of leveraging Indigenous-specific determinants and acknowledging non-Indigenous-specific factors, to promote the well-being of First Nations children living off-reserve.

Gender and educational patterns in the demand and supply of grandparent childcare in Australia

AbstractGrandparents are an important source of childcare worldwide, but international patterns vary. We examine how demographic characteristics of parents, and of grandparents, factor into grandparent care provision considering the cultural assumptions and policy settings Australian families live within. Using the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, we identify determinants of both the demand for and the supply of grandparent childcare in Australia (4266 grandparents and 9822 parents). Results suggest that grandmothers and mothers, as much or more than fathers and mothers, balance their reciprocal participation in employment and childcare. University‐educated grandmothers are more likely to provide regular childcare (at least once a week) and university‐educated mothers are more likely to draw upon it, inconsistent with research in other countries. It appears grandparents are stepping in as both “mother savers” and “system savers,” suggesting a need for more public policy support for Australian working mothers to capitalise on their increasingly high educational attainment.

“Discover your potential to raise your children”: A psychoeducational infancy parenting intervention in Spain

AbstractBackgroundThe quality of parenting has a significant impact on healthy development across the life cycle. Recent research has highlighted the financial return of evidence‐based parenting programs that are well designed and implemented.ObjectiveTo analyze the impact of a psychoeducational guidance intervention program aimed at improving parenting skills.MethodThirty‐five families with children aged between 0 and 3.5 years referred from the educational, social, and health departments of the Vitoria‐Gasteiz City Council (Spain) participated in the study. Using a longitudinal approach, the intervention took place over the course of three home visits: initial pretest assessment visit, feedback and orientation visit, and a final posttest assessment visit.ResultsStatistically significant pretest–posttest differences were observed in parenting skills, including cognitive and socio‐emotional development scaffolding, parental self‐efficacy, parental adaptive stress, and diversity of experiences.ConclusionsSeveral areas for improvement were detected in the context of an intervention based on customized guidance for individual families. The implementation process indicated issues to be improved in future program editions.ImplicationsOur findings provide family and public health policy makers with empirical support for the implementation of parenting programs designed to help families to acquire and improve parenting competencies to foster their children's comprehensive development, focused on the period between 0 and 3.5 years of life. Results of the study favor the propagation among Spanish professionals who work with families of the use of quality standards of the evidence‐based approach related to quality of implementation and assessment of the impact of parenting programs.

Parental teaching of nonprejudiced values toward sexual minorities during adolescence

IntroductionThe current study examined adolescents’ nonprejudiced values toward sexual minorities over three years to determine change over time, as well as parenting and child characteristics as predictors of initial levels and change in values over time.MethodsParticipants included 573 US adolescents (M age at Wave 1 = 14.56, SD = 1.68, range 12–17; 49% identifying as female; 82% completely heterosexual) and their mother (n = 573, 83% completely heterosexual) and father (n = 341, 99% completely heterosexual), all of whom responded to surveys given annually over three years, starting in 2020.ResultsGrowth curve analysis suggested that adolescents’ nonprejudiced values toward sexual minorities increased from ages 14–16 for both males and females. Results also suggested that both maternal and paternal teaching of nonprejudiced values were consistent predictors of initial levels of adolescent nonprejudiced values, and mothers’ teaching was associated with increases in nonprejudiced values over time, over and above other parenting variables like parental warmth and frequency of parental communication about sexual minority topics.DiscussionThe discussion focuses on the importance of parental teaching of nonprejudiced values on the development of adolescents’ own nonprejudiced values.

Association of Consanguineous Marriage with Sociodemographic Characteristics of Parents and its Impact on Mortality and Morbidity in off Springs: Analytical Study from Punjab, Pakistan

Objective: This study aims to fill the gap in literature by demonstrating the significance of Sociodemographic determinants and its impact on mortality and morbidity in off springs of consanguineous couples in Punjab, Pakistan. Study Design: Cross-sectional analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: Study was four months from Nov 2021 to Mar 2022, online on married couples in Punjab, Pakistan. Methodology: Married couples of both the consanguineous and non-consanguineous marriages who were able to participate and understand questions in survey were included. Sample size of 338 was calculated using Open epi info software. Keeping in view the response rate of 76% forms were distributed to 400 participants. Sampling technique uses was non probability purposive sampling. The questionnaire included Sociodemographic information and questions related to morbidity and mortality in off springs for qualitative variables, relevant frequencies and percentages were determined. Chi square test was applied to determine relationship between two qualitative variables, a p-value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Total n=193(64%) were non-consanguineous couples, while n=107(36%) were consanguineous. Majority were between 46-60 years of age and monthly income of Rs. 71,000-90,000 Almost one third was graduates=91(30%) and post graduates n=84(28%).The prevalence of diseases came high in children of consanguineous families n=13(4%) as compare to non-consanguineous. There was a significant association between type of marriage disease (p=0.001) and under-five mortality in children (p=0.003). Conclusion: The children born to consanguineous couples exhibited more burden of inherited disorders than children born to non-consanguineous couples.

Factors influencing language performance in boys and girls at age 2 in the French ELFE birth cohort

Different environmental and biological variables affect the rhythm of language acquisition in children. A substantial amount of literature has shown that girls overtake boys, at least in the early stages of language acquisition. The goal of this study is to investigate how different factors affect language scores in girls and boys. The parents of 6415 two-year-old French children from the ELFE cohort completed a parental questionnaire assessing language development. Our results show that girls do indeed display higher scores. In order to explore the impact of different variables – such as child characteristics, parental characteristics, the extent to which parents have interactions, such as reading and singing with children – on girls’ and boys’ scores, we tested logistic regressions contrasting children with very low scores with those with average or high scores. We found that sex remained a highly significant explanatory variable. Finally, we analyzed the extent to which there are differences between girls and boys in terms of the variables associated with a low score. Strictly exposed to the same unfavorable factors, girls with very low scores at two years master more words than boys with very low scores. Although different variables are significantly associated with a low score, sex remains a highly significant explanatory variable. Hence, our work contributes significantly to the debated issue of sex/gender influence on language acquisition.

A Heuristic Model to Guide the Study of Homeschoolers’ Academic Competence

ABSTRACT Studies exploring homeschooling typically focus on comparing homeschoolers to conventionally schooled peers on a range of academic outcomes. Largely absent from the literature are within-group studies designed to identify experiences that facilitate (or hinder) homeschoolers’ academic outcomes. The aim of this paper is to describe a heuristic model outlining ways the home environment, instructional practices, parent characteristics, child characteristics, and the broader context might relate to homeschoolers’ academic competence. The heuristic model is attentive to the possibility that these relations might vary as a function of child characteristics. In addition, the potential for transactional and mediated relations is considered.

Latent cognitive phenotypes in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy: Clinical, sociodemographic, and neuroimaging associations.

Application of cluster analytic procedures has advanced understanding of the cognitive heterogeneity inherent in diverse epilepsy syndromes and the associated clinical and neuroimaging features. Application of this unsupervised machine learning approach to the neuropsychological performance of persons with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) has yet to be attempted, which is the intent of this investigation. A total of 77 JME participants, 19 unaffected siblings, and 44 unrelated controls, 12 to 25 years of age, were administered a comprehensive neuropsychological battery (intelligence, language, memory, executive function, and processing speed), which was subjected to factor analysis followed by K-means clustering of the resultant factor scores. Identified cognitive phenotypes were characterized and related to clinical, family, sociodemographic, and cortical and subcortical imaging features. Factor analysis revealed three underlying cognitive dimensions (general ability, speed/response inhibition, and learning/memory), with JME participants performing worse than unrelated controls across all factor scores, and unaffected siblings performing worse than unrelated controls on the general mental ability and learning/memory factors, with no JME vs sibling differences. K-means clustering of the factor scores revealed three latent groups including above average (31.4% of participants), average (52.1%), and abnormal performance (16.4%). Participant groups differed in their distributions across the latent groups (p < 0.001), with 23% JME, 22% siblings, and 2% unrelated controls in the abnormal performance group; and 18% JME, 21% siblings, and 59% unrelated controls in the above average group. Clinical epilepsy variables were unassociated with cluster membership, whereas family factors (lower parental education) and abnormally increased thickness and/or volume in the frontal, parietal, and temporal-occipital regions were associated with the abnormal cognition group. Distinct cognitive phenotypes characterize the spectrum of neuropsychological performance of patients with JME for which there is familial (sibling) aggregation. Phenotypic membership was associated with parental (education) and imaging characteristics (increased cortical thickness and volume) but not basic clinical seizure features.

Adaptation and validation of the Parents’ Self-stigma Scale into Turkish and its association with parenting stress and parental self-efficacy

ObjectivesIn the present era, parents frequently stigmatize themselves for their children’s negative behaviors and inadequate social skills. Parents’ self-stigma (PSS) may lead to a decrease in parental self-efficacy and quality of marital and family life. In light of these reasons, the principal objective of this study to assess the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the PSS Scale (PSSS) as developed by Eaton et al. (2019) and to investigate the indirect effect that parenting stress has on the relationship between PSS and parental self-efficacy.MethodsWe collected data from a total of 1,118 parents via random sampling, with the first part of the study involving 645 participants (Mage = 32.64 ± 7.28) and the second part of the study involving 473 participants (Mage = 27.43 ± 9.87). In the first part of the study, we employed structural equation modeling for the confirmatory factor analysis and Pearson’s correlation coefficient for the criterion-related validity, average variance extracted, and composite reliability analyses. Moreover, we calculated Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega, and Guttman split-half coefficients for the reliability analyses. In the second part of the study, we utilized Hayes’ bootstrapping method to assess the indirect effect of parenting stress on the relationship between PSS and parental self-efficacy.ResultsThe first part of the study confirms the PSSS’s 11-item, 3-factor structure, showing the Turkish form to have acceptable goodness-of-fit indices, and found Cronbach’s alpha for the PSSS to be 0.89. Furthermore, the first part of the study demonstrates a significant negative correlation between marital life satisfaction and PSS. Meanwhile, the second part of the study has determined PSS to be positively related to parenting stress and negatively related to parental self-efficacy. The second part of the study also indicates parenting stress to have an indirect effect on the association between PSS and parental self-efficacy.ConclusionsThe study indicates the Turkish version of the PSSS to be a valid and reliable instrument in Turkish culture for measuring parents’ PSS levels regarding their children, with higher scores indicating greater PSS. The scale can be effectively used in both research and clinical settings. The study also suggests parental stress to have a possible impact on the association between PSS and parental self-efficacy. Furthermore, addressing the variables of PSS and parenting stress in family-focused interviews and therapeutic interventions may contribute to increasing parental self-efficacy.

Intraspecific Variation in Parental Care May Reflect Variation in Parental Quality.

The existence of life-history trade-offs is a fundamental assumption of evolutionary biology and behavioural ecology, yet empirical studies have found mixed evidence for this. Such trade-offs are expected when individuals vary in how they allocate their limited resource budgets between different life-history functions (variation in resource allocation), but they may be masked when individuals vary in how many resources they have acquired that they can later allocate to life-history functions (variation in resource acquisition). We currently lack studies on the extent to which individual differences in behaviour reflect variation between individuals in resource acquisition and resource allocation. Here, we use parental care as a case study for exploring this question. We used the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, which exhibits facultative biparental care, comprising direct care (provisioning food or interacting with larvae) and indirect care (guarding or maintaining the carcass). We found some evidence for a positive relationship between these two components of care for both male and female parents. In addition, parents that spent more time providing care 24 h after hatching also tended to provide care for longer. Lastly, parents that provided more parental care did not experience a trade-off of reduced lifespan after the breeding attempt. On the contrary, we found a positive relationship between the duration of care provided and parents' post-breeding lifespan. Our finding of positive relationships between parental behaviours and between parental care and lifespan suggests that variation in care was mainly driven by differences in prior resource acquisition (i.e., parental quality) among individuals rather than differences in resource allocation. Our findings thus suggest that high intraspecific variation in parental quality can potentially mask reproductive investment trade-offs within populations.

Preliminary reliability and validity of the PedsQL™ Family Impact Module in parents of children with congenital muscular dystrophy

PurposeThis study examines the preliminary reliability and validity of the PedsQL™ Family Impact Module (PedsQL™ FIM) in parents of children with congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD).MethodsThe participants in this study were 28 parents of children with CMD and 39 parents of unaffected children. Both groups of parents completed the PedsQL™ FIM and a demographic information form. Cronbach’s alpha was used to examine the internal consistency reliability, and the known-groups method was used to assess construct validity. Three distinct models were used to estimate the mean score differences of the PedsQL™ FIM between the two groups: an unadjusted model, a multivariate regression model, and propensity score matching with inverse probability of treatment weighting.ResultsCronbach’s alpha coefficients for all scales exceeded 0.70, supporting evidence for the internal consistency reliability of the PedsQL™ FIM. The construct validity of the PedsQL™ FIM demonstrated that the mean differences between the CMD and unaffected groups were significantly different (p < .05). This indicated that the instrument could discriminate between the two groups.ConclusionsThe results of this study demonstrated the good preliminary reliability and validity of the PedsQL™ FIM in assessing parental health-related quality of life and family functioning of children with CMD.

Activating the resources of families raising children with autism spectrum disorders

Introduction. Modern family resources in terms of supporting children with autism spectrum disorders are increasingly becoming a subject of discourse at the level of interdepartmental and intersectoral cooperation. At the same time, a large-scale investigation of parental expertise and inclusiveness as basic family resources is required. Metaprofessional qualities of parents’ personality, being a backbone characteristic, are considered as a component of their expertise and inclusiveness. The aim of the article is the analysis of deficiencies and potentialities of families raising children with autism spectrum disorders in terms of personal metaprofessional competence. Materials and methods. The study covered 160 families raising children with autism spectrum disorders and 164 assisting experts. The diagnostic material was grounded on the basic data obtained through the results of parents’ completion of a special document “Personal Card” and following the survey of families and specialists entrusted with upbringing, education, psychological and pedagogical support of children with autism spectrum disorders (the section for assessing the educative competencies group in the structure of the author’s questionnaires: “Self-assessment of parental inclusiveness” and “Expert assessment of inclusive potential”). The significance of the obtained results was evaluated through the analysis of contingency tables based on Pearson’s chi-squared test. Results. The quantitative/qualitative characterisation of resources of families raising children with autism spectrum disorders was derived, demonstrating parental expertise and inclusiveness. The relationship between the category of children and the level of education was established, which level is higher in parents bringing up children with autism spectrum disorders (χ2 = 14.655; p=0.006); in addition, significant differences in professional employment of parents bringing up children with autism spectrum disorders, mental retardation and visual impairment were established. Some differences in the extent of satisfaction with the quality and nature of assistance received by the parents were identified (χ2 = 8.433; p&lt;0.05). The parents of children with autism spectrum disorders, unlike control groups, preferred private educational centres as the main sources of help, support and assistance. The survey established a pronounced deficit of active and effective participation of the second parent, grandparents and people from the immediate environment in the upbringing of a child (more than 26% of the respondents). The shortcomings in the mastery of special methods and techniques of interaction with a child with autism spectrum disorders were highlighted, as well as the lack of a unified, effective and sustainable system of stimulating and encouraging a child within the family. Conclusion. The obtained results are significant for further comprehensive elaboration and comprehension of the inclusive potential of families raising children with autism spectrum disorders. The most important guideline is the adoption of metaprofessional solutions designed to significantly complement the existing applied methods within the framework of realising the strategy for comprehensive support of persons with autism spectrum disorders, their parents and the immediate environment.