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25-09-2019 | Original research

The Family Adjustment Measure: Identifying Stress in Parents of Youth with Autism

Auteurs: Shannon L. McKee, Xun Liu, Dieu M. Truong, Allison C. Meinert, Andrew P. Daire, Sarah S. Mire

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Child and Family Studies | Uitgave 2/2020

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Abstract

Objectives

Families caring for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a unique parenting experience and often report high stress. Resilience factors such as coping and social support are linked to positive family outcomes and protect against stress. The Family Adjustment Measure (FAM) was developed as a screener for both parental stress and coping, and in the current study, we validated its use for ASD-affected families.

Methods

With data from parents of children and adolescents with rigorously-confirmed ASD diagnoses (n = 362), we also used receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) analyses to identify cut-off scores, sensitivity, and specificity for the FAM’s four subscales, which differed for parents of children versus parents of adolescents.

Results

For parents of children, FAM subscale cut-off scores were: Parental Distress = 16.5 (78% sensitivity, 64% specificity); Social Support = 30.5 (70% sensitivity, 52% specificity); Family-Based Support = 27.5 (73% sensitivity, 57% specificity); and Positive Coping = 24.5 (58% sensitivity, 54% specificity). For parents of adolescents, FAM subscale cut-points were: Parental Distress = 18.5 (83% sensitivity, 82% specificity); Social Support = 30.5 (73% sensitivity, 51% specificity); Family-Based Support = 28.5 (80% sensitivity, 62% specificity); and Positive Coping = 22.5 (70% sensitivity, 50% specificity).

Conclusions

Results support the validity of using the FAM subscales to predict clinically-significant stress within families of both children and adolescents with ASD, though the differing cut-off scores underscore the need for age-related considerations when working with ASD-affected families. Findings suggest potential clinical utility of using the FAM to identify unique risk and protective factors of families raising children and adolescents.
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Metagegevens
Titel
The Family Adjustment Measure: Identifying Stress in Parents of Youth with Autism
Auteurs
Shannon L. McKee
Xun Liu
Dieu M. Truong
Allison C. Meinert
Andrew P. Daire
Sarah S. Mire
Publicatiedatum
25-09-2019
Uitgeverij
Springer US
Gepubliceerd in
Journal of Child and Family Studies / Uitgave 2/2020
Print ISSN: 1062-1024
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-2843
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01569-4