Abstract
Genetic family history studies suggest that a genetic liability for autism may be expressed in non-autistic relatives in a milder but qualitatively similar pattern of the traits that define autism (Piven et al., 1997). This phenomenon was later named the broader autism phenotype (BAP). Parents who recognize autistic behaviors in themselves might perceive their child’s disability in a different way from parents who became aware of ASD only through their offspring. The present pilot study examines the correlation between presence of the broader autism phenotype (BAP) in parents of children who have been diagnosed with ASD and their feelings towards their children. It explores the impact of this trait on the dyadic co** strategies these parents adopt, indicating how partners in a relationship work together to address a stressful situation, which is perceived as a dyadic rather than individual challenge. The Friburg Dyadic Co** Test, developed by Bodenmann (1995, 2005), was used to examine dyadic co** strategies. This research tool relates to how the individual communicates stress to his/her partner; the individual’s assessment of how the partner responds to his/her stress; actions that an individual does when his/her partner experiences stress; how both partners deal with stress.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahmann, E., & Dokken, D. (2009). Supporting families of children with autism spectrum disorders: Questions parents ask and what nurses need to know. Pediatric Nursing, 35(4), 240–253.
American Psychiatric Association (APA). (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.
Bader, S. H., & Barry, T. D. (2014). A longitudinal examination of the relation between parental expressed emotion and externalizing behaviors in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(11), 2820–2831. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2142-6.
Bailey, A., Palferman, S., Heavey, L., & Le Couteur, A. (1998). Autism: The phenotype in relatives. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 28, 369–392. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026048320785.
Barker, E. T., Hartley, S. L., Seltzer, M. M., Floyd, F. J., Greenberg, J. S., & Orsmond, G. I. (2011). Trajectories of emotional well-being in mothers of adolescents and adults with autism. Developmental Psychology, 47, 551–561. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021268.
Baron-Cohen, S. (1995). Mindblindness: An essay on autism and theory of mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press/Bradford Books.
Baron-Cohen, S. (1997). Are children with autism superior at folk physics? In H. Wellman & K. Inagaki (Eds.), Children’s theories: New direction for child development series. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Baron-Cohen, S., Bolton, P., Wheelwright, S., Scahill, V., Short, L., Mead, G., & Smith, A. (1998). Autism occurs more often in families of physicists, engineers, and mathematicians. Autism, 2, 296–301.
Baron-Cohen, S., & Hammer, J. (1997). Parents of children with Asperger syndrome: What is the cognitive phenotype? Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 9, 548–554. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn.1997.9.4.548.
Baron-Cohen, S., Ring, H., Bullmore, E. T., Wheelwright, S., Ashwin, C., & Williams, S. C. (2000). The amygdala theory of autism. Neuroscience and Biobehavioural Reviews, 24, 355–364. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0149-7634(00)00011-7.
Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Hill, J., Raste, Y., & Plumb, I. (2001a). The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” test revised version: A study with normal adults, and adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42, 241–251. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021963001006643.
Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Skinner, R., Martin, J., & Clubley, E. (2001b). The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): Evidence from Asperger Syndrome/High-functioning autism, males and females, scientists and mathematicians. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31(1), 5–17. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005653411471.
Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Stott, C., Bolton, P., & Goodyer, I. (1997). Is there a link between engineering and autism? Autism: An International Journal of Research and Practice, 1, 153–163. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361397011010.
Beck, A. T., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J., & Erbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561–571. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004.
Bishop, D. V. M. (2003). Autism and specific language impairment: Categorical distinction or continuum? In G. Bock & J. Goode (Eds.), Autism: Neural basis and treatment possibilities (pp. 213–226). Chichester: John Wiley.
Bishop, D. V. M., Maybery, M., Wong, D., Maley, A., & Hallmeyer, J. (2006). Characteristics of the broader phenotype in autism: A study of siblings using the children’s communication checklist-2. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 141(2), 117–122. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.b.30267.
Bodenmann, G. (1995). Coding system to evaluate observed dyadic co** [Unpublished coding system]. Fribourg, Switzerland: University of Fribourg.
Bodenmann, G. (2005). Dyadic co** and its significance for marital functioning. In T. Revenson, G. Bodenmann, & K. Kayser (Eds.), Couples co** with stress: Emerging perspectives on dyadic co**, (pp. 33–49). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/11031-002.
Bolton, P., MacDonald, H., Pickles, A., Rios, P., Goode, S., Crowson, M., … Rutter, M. (1994). A case-control family history study of autism. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35, 877–900. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1994.tb02300.x.
Bordonada, T. M. (2017). Examining chronic sorrow among parents of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Doctoral dissertation. Retrieved from http://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/4075.
Bradley, E., Hurwitz, S., Harvey, E., Hodgson, S., & Perugini, E. (2013). Factor analytic structure and validity of the parental feelings inventory: A brief report. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 22(6), 801–806. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-012-9634-9.
Briskman, J., Happé, F., & Frith, U. (2001). Exploring the cognitive phenotype of autism: Weak “central coherence” in parents and siblings of children with autism: II. Real-life skills and preferences. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42, 309–316. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021963001006904.
Cacioppo, J. T., Hawkley, L. C., & Thisted, R. A. (2010). Perceived social isolation makes me sad: 5-year cross-lagged analyses of loneliness and depressive symptomatology in the Chicago health, aging, and social relations study. Psychology and Aging, 25(2), 453–463. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017216.
Cappe, E., Wolff, M., Bobet, R., & Adrien, J. L. (2011). Quality of life: A key variable to consider in the evaluation of adjustment in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders and in the development of relevant support and assistance programs. Quality of Life Research, 20(8), 1279–1294. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-011-9861-3.
Chen, J. A., Peñagarikano, O., Belgard, T. G., Swarup, V., & Geschwind, D. H. (2015). The emerging picture of autism spectrum disorder. Genetics and pathology. Annual Review of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease, 10, 111–144. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-pathol-012414-040405.
Cohrs, A. C., & Leslie, D. L. (2017). Depression in parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder: A claims-based analysis. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(5), 1416–1422. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3063-y.
Davis, N. O., & Carter, A. S. (2008). Parenting stress in mothers and fathers of toddlers with autism spectrum disorders: Associations with child characteristics. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 1278–1291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0512-z.
Deater-Deckard, K., & Scarr, S. (1996) Parenting stress among dual-earner mothers and fathers: Are there gender differences? Journal of Family Psychology 10, 45–59. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0893-3200.10.1.45.
Durbin, C. E., Klein, D. N., Hayden, E. P., Buckley, M. E., & Moerk, K. C. (2005). Temperamental emotionality in preschoolers and parental mood disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 114(1), 28–37. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.114.1.28.
Gillberg, C. (1989). Asperger syndrome in 23 Swedish children. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 31, 520–531. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8749.1989.tb04031.x.
Gillberg, C. (1991). Clinical and neurobiological aspects of Asperger Syndrome in six family studies. In U. Frith (Ed.), Autism and Asperger syndrome (pp. 122–146). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Gray, D. E. (2003). Gender and co**: The parents of children with high functioning autism. Social Science and Medicine, 56(3), 631–642. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(02)00059-X.
Happé, F. (1999). Autism: Cognitive deficit or cognitive style? Trends in Cognitive Science, 3, 216–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01318-2.
Hasegawa, C., Kikuchi, M., Yoshimura, Y., Hiraishi, H., Munesue, T., Nakatani, H., … Minabe, Y. (2015). Broader autism phenotype in mothers predicts social responsiveness in young children with autism spectrum disorders. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 69(3), 136–144. https://doi.org/10.1111/pcn.12210.
Hastings, R. P., Kovshoff, H., Ward, N. J., Deqli, E. F., Brown, T., & Remington, B. (2005). Systems analysis of stress and positive perceptions in mothers and fathers of pre-school children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35, 635–644. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-005-0007-8.
Hughes, C., Leboyer, M., & Bouvard, M. (1997). Executive function in parents of children with autism. Psychological Medicine, 27, 209–220.
Jobe, L. E., & White, S. (2007). Loneliness, social relationships, and a broader autism phenotype in college students. Personality and Individual Differences, 42(8), 1479–1489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2006.10.021.
Klein-Jacoby, A. (2010). Personal growth and subjective happiness among mothers of children with various developmental disabilities: The contribution of attachment style, social support and guilt. Unpublished master’s thesis. School of Social Work, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel (in Hebrew). Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%90%D7%9C/Downloads/%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%98%20%D7%9E%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8%20%20(10).pdf.
Koegel, R. L., Schreibman, L., Loos, L. M., Dirlich-Wilhelm, H., Dunlap, G., Robbins, F. R., & Plienis, A. J. (1992). Consistent stress profiles in mothers of children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 22, 205–216. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01058151.
Koenig-Gurfinkel. (2004). Siblings’ gender and parental communal co**: factors that influence siblings’ self-esteem and acceptance of their brother/sister with mental retardation. Unpublished master’s thesis. Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel (in Hebrew). Retrieved from http://www.kshalem.org.il/uploads/pdf/article_7071_1383082234.pdf.
Konstantareas, M. M., & Homatidis, S. (1998). Assessing child symptom severity and stress in parents of autistic children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 30, 459–470. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1989.tb00259.x.
Kuusikko-Gauffin, S., Pollock-Wurman, R., Mattila, M. L., Jussila, K., Ebeling, H., Pauls, D., & Moilanen, I. (2013). Social anxiety in parents of high-functioning children with autism and Asperger syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43(3), 521–529. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1581-1.
Lamport, D., & Zlomke, K. (2014). The broader autism phenotype, social interaction anxiety, and loneliness: Implications for social functioning. Current Psychology, 33(3), 246–255. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-014-9210-0.
Landry, O., & Chouinard, P. A. (2016). Why we should study the broader autism phenotype in typically develo** populations. Journal of Cognition and Development, 17(4), 584–595. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2016.1200046.
Lawton, M. P., Moss, M., Kleban, M. H., Glicksman, A., & Rovine, M. (1991). A two-factor model of caregiving appraisal and psychological well-being. Journal of Gerontology, 46, 181–189. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronj/46.4.P181.
Lounds, J., Seltzer, M. M., Greenberg, J. S., & Shattuck, P. T. (2007). Transition and change in adolescents and young adults with autism: Longitudinal effects on maternal well-being. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 112, 401–417. https://doi.org/10.1352/0895-8017(2007)112%5b401:TACIAA%5d2.0.CO;2.
Lyons, R., Mickelson, K., Sullivan, M., & Coyne, J. (1998). Co** as a communal process. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 15(5), 579–605. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407598155001.
Lyubomirsky, S., & Lepper, H. S. (1999). A measure of subjective happiness: Preliminary reliability and construct validation. Social Indicators Research, 46, 137–155. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006824100041.
Manning, M. M., Wainwright, L., & Bennett, J. (2011). The double ABCX model of adaptation in racially diverse families with a school-age child with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41, 320–331. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1056-1.
McStay, R. L., Dissanayake, C., Scheeren, Koot, H. M., & Begeer, S. (2014). Parenting stress and autism: The role of age, autism severity, quality of life and problem behaviour of children and adolescents with autism. Autism, 18(5), 502–510. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361313485163.
Mehta, S. Q., & Nurmi, E. L. (2013). Genetic pathways to autism spectrum disorders. Neuropsychiatry, 3(2), 193–207. https://doi.org/10.2217/npy.13.16.
Neely-Barnes, S. L., Hall, H. R., Roberts, R. J., & Graff, J. C. (2011). Parenting a child with an autism spectrum disorder: Public perceptions and parental conceptualizations. Journal of Family Social Work, 14(3), 208–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/10522158.2011.571539.
Neil, T. L. (2001). Co** strategies and stress levels of parents of children with autism. Dissertation Abstracts International, 63, 1302. Retrieved from https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds/2471.
Orr, R. R., Cameron, S. J., Dobson, L. A., & Day, D. M. (1993). Age-related changes in stress experienced by families with a child who has developmental delays. Mental Retardation, 31, 171–176. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/openview/70abe8e799308fe89b8d99ea80fa0270/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1976608.
Phetrasuwan, S., & Miles, M. S. (2009). Parenting stress in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 14(3), 157–165. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6155.2009.00188.x.
Pisula, E., & Ziegart-Sadowska, K. (2015). Broader autism phenotype in siblings of children with ASD: A review. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 16, 13217–13258. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms160613217.
Piven, J., Palmer, P., Jacobi, D., Childress, D., & Arndt, S. (1997). Broader autism phenotype: Evidence from a family history study of multiple-incidence autism families. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 154(2), 185–190. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/220472388?accountid=48286.
Rettew, D. C. (2000). Avoidant personality disorder, generalized social phobia, and shyness: Putting the personality back into personality disorders. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 8(6), 283–297. https://doi.org/10.1080/hrp.8.6.283.
Rueger, S. Y., Katz, R. L., Risser, H. J., & Lovejoy, M. C. (2011). Relations between parental affect and parenting behaviors: A meta analytic review. Parenting: Science and Practice, 11, 1–33. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1080/15295192.2011.539503.
Scheeren, A. M., & Stauder, J. E. A. (2008). Broader autism phenotype in parents of autistic children: Reality or myth? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(2), 276–287. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0389-x.
Serrata, C. A. (2012). Psychosocial aspects of parenting a child with autism. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 43(4), 29–35. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1269470652?accountid=48286.
Siman-Tov, A., & Kaniel, S. (2011). Stress and personal resources as predictors of the adjustment of parents to autistic children: A multivariate model. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41(7), 879–890. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1112-x.
Smith, L. E., Seltzer, M. M., Tager-Flusberg, H., Greenberg, J. S., & Carter, A. S. (2008). A comparative analysis of well-being and co** among mothers of toddlers and mothers of adolescents with ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(5), 876–889. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0461-6.
Spielberger, C. D., Barker, L. R., Russell, S. F., Crane, R. S., Westberry, L. G., Knight, J., & Marks, E. (1979). The preliminary manual for the state-trait personality inventory. University of South Florida.
Szatmari, P., Georgiades, S., Duku, E., Zwaigenbaum, L., Goldberg, J., & Bennett, T. (2008). Alexithymia in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(10), 1859–1865. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0576-4.
Szatmari, P., Jones, M. B., Fisman, S., Tuff, L., Bartolucci, G., Mahoney, W. J., & Bryson, S. E. (1995). Parents and collateral relatives of children with pervasive developmental disorders: A family history study. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 60, 282–289. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.1320600405.
Tangney, J. P., & Dearing, R. L. (2002). Shame and guilt. New York: The Guilford Press.
Tanaka, M., Sato, A., Kasai, S., Hagino, Y., Kotajima-Murakami, H., Kashii, H., … Hall, F. S. (2018). Brain hyperserotonemia causes autism-relevant social deficits in mice. Molecular Autism, 9(1), 60.‏ https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-018-0243-3.
Tani, P., Lindberg, N., Joukamaa, M., Nieminen-von Wendt, T., Von Wendt, L., Appelberg, B., … Porkka-Heiskanen, T. (2004). Asperger syndrome, alexithymia and perception of sleep. Neuropsychobiology, 49, 64–70. https://doi.org/10.1159/000076412.
Tehee, E., Honan, R., & Hevey, D. (2009). Factors contributing to stress in parents of individuals with autistic spectrum disorders. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 22, 34–42. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-3148.2008.00437.x.
Vogan, V., Lake, J. K., Weiss, J. A., Robinson, S., Tint, A., & Lunsky, Y. (2014). Factors associated with caregiver burden among parents of individuals with ASD: Differences across intellectual functioning. Family Relations, 63(4), 554–567. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12081.
Wheelwright, S., Auyeung, B., Allison, C., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2010). Defining the broader, medium and narrow autism phenotype among parents using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Molecular Autism, 1, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/2040-2392-1-10.
Wolff, S., Narayan, S., & Moyes, B. (1988). Personality characteristics of parents of autistic children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 29, 143–153. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1988.tb00699.x.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Goltzer, G., Pearlman-Avnion, S. (2019). Feelings of Parents with Broader Autism Phenotype Towards Their Autistic Child. In: Lowinger, S., Pearlman-Avnion, S. (eds) Autism in Adulthood. Autism and Child Psychopathology Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28833-4_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28833-4_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-28832-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-28833-4
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)