Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Prosocial skills in young children with autism, and their mothers’ psychological well-being
T2 - longitudinal relationships
AU - Totsika, Vasiliki
AU - Hastings, Richard
AU - Emerson, Eric
AU - Berridge, Damon
AU - Lancaster, Gillian
PY - 2015/5
Y1 - 2015/5
N2 - The study aimed to explore the longitudinal association between prosocial skills in young children with an ASD and maternal psychological well-being. Participants were 132 children with autism drawn from the British Millennium Cohort Study (aged 9 months, 3 and 5 years). Three-wave cross-lagged structural equation models tested whether children's prosocial skills were reciprocally related to maternal psychological distress and life satisfaction. Findings indicated that relationships were not bidirectional, as both maternal outcomes were not associated with children's prosocial skills two years later. However, prosocial skills at 3 years were associated with improved maternal well-being (less distress and more life satisfaction) when children were 5-years-old. The study adds to the limited evidence base on bidirectional relationships between prosocial skills in ASD and proximal environmental variables. Findings highlight the importance of testing for reciprocal relationships rather than assuming unidirectional effects. In addition, they indicate that other-directed behaviors in children with autism have the potential to boost maternal well-being.
AB - The study aimed to explore the longitudinal association between prosocial skills in young children with an ASD and maternal psychological well-being. Participants were 132 children with autism drawn from the British Millennium Cohort Study (aged 9 months, 3 and 5 years). Three-wave cross-lagged structural equation models tested whether children's prosocial skills were reciprocally related to maternal psychological distress and life satisfaction. Findings indicated that relationships were not bidirectional, as both maternal outcomes were not associated with children's prosocial skills two years later. However, prosocial skills at 3 years were associated with improved maternal well-being (less distress and more life satisfaction) when children were 5-years-old. The study adds to the limited evidence base on bidirectional relationships between prosocial skills in ASD and proximal environmental variables. Findings highlight the importance of testing for reciprocal relationships rather than assuming unidirectional effects. In addition, they indicate that other-directed behaviors in children with autism have the potential to boost maternal well-being.
KW - Autism
KW - Procsocial skills
KW - Distress
KW - Life satisfaction
KW - Bidirectional
U2 - 10.1016/j.rasd.2015.01.001
DO - 10.1016/j.rasd.2015.01.001
M3 - Journal article
VL - 13-14
SP - 25
EP - 31
JO - Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders
JF - Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders
ER -