Relationship satisfaction in couples raising a child with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review of the literature
Section snippets
Research questions
This review sought to answer two research questions:
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Do couples raising a child with ASD experience lower relationship satisfaction when compared with couples raising children without ASD?
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What are the factors associated with relationship satisfaction in couples raising a child with ASD?
Method
The PRISMA Statement was used to guide the methodology and reporting of this systematic review. It is comprised of a 27-item checklist developed for the purpose of improving the quality and consistency of systematic review reporting (Moher, Liberati, Tetzlaff, Altman, & The PRISMA Group, 2009).
Study selection
A total of 26 studies met the eligibility criteria for synthesis, of which 25 were quantitative and one was mixed method design. Of these, seven studies provided adequate data for inclusion in the meta-analysis. If the article was deemed suitable but provided insufficient data, attempts were made to contact the authors for further information. Fig. 1 outlines the study selection process.
Study characteristics
Articles spanned 32 years of research from 1983 to 2015. Fourteen (54%) were published in the preceding 5
Discussion
The overall finding of this systematic review and meta-analytic summary suggests that couples with a child with ASD are at risk of experiencing lower relationship satisfaction when compared with couples who have children without a disability. This finding was true for both mothers and fathers when analysed separately. However, care must be taken when drawing conclusions as the meta-analysis plots showed that seven out of ten studies displayed group differences with 95% confidence intervals
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgment
No funding was received for this review.
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