Factors Influencing Despair, Self-blame, and Acceptance Among Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A Malaysian Perspective

Muhammad Hanif, Abd Latif and Wan Salwina, Wan Ismail and Mohd Rizal, Abdul Manaf and Nur Iwana, Abdul Taib (2023) Factors Influencing Despair, Self-blame, and Acceptance Among Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A Malaysian Perspective. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. pp. 1-8. ISSN 1573-3432

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Abstract

Purpose Accepting and adapting to the child’s diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be challenging for parents. We aimed to assess domains of parental adjustment namely despair, self-blame, and acceptance among parents whose children were diagnosed with ASD. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 111 parents of children with autism who attended Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit (CAPU), in a university teaching hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sociodemographic profiles of both parents and children were gathered. Parental adjustment focusing on parental self-blame, despair and acceptance were assessed using self-reported questionnaires namely Adjustment to the Diagnosis of Autism (ADA). Results Higher level of despair was associated with parents who have medical illness (β=0.214, p=0.016) and children who received antipsychotic medications (β=0.329, p<0.001). Parents with tertiary education (β = -0.207, p=0.023) and those with autistic child attended school (β = -0.200, p=0.037) have lower level of despair. Parents with medical illness (β=0.245, p=0.008), child receiving antipsychotic medications (β=0.251, p=0.005), Chinese ethnicity (β=0.185, p=0.04), and child’s gender (β=0.283, p=0.003) were significantly associated with higher level of self-blame. Lower acceptance was found among Chinese parents (β = -0.264, p=0.005) while married parents had higher acceptance levels (β=0.215, p=0.022). Conclusion Parental adjustment involving domains of despair, self-blame, and acceptance were significantly associated with ethnicity of parents, educational level, parents’ marital status and medical illness, as well as the ASD children’s schooling status and type of medications used.

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