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The Relation of Parental Expressed Emotion, Parental Affiliate Stigma, and Typically-develo** Sibling Internalizing Behavior in Families with a Child with ASD

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Abstract

Caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience greater stress, expressed emotion (EE), and affiliate stigma than caregivers of children without ASD. Siblings of children with ASD often experience greater negative functioning than siblings of individuals without ASD. The current study found significant interrelations among symptom severity and externalizing behavior in children with ASD; parental stress, affiliate stigma, and EE; and TD sibling internalizing behavior. In addition, certain subcomponents of affiliate stigma predicted unique variance in EE and TD sibling internalizing behavior. Findings may increase understanding of psychosocial functioning in families with children with ASD and allow clinicians to improve outcomes for all family members. Limitations of the study included self-report data, limited sample diversity, and a cross-sectional design.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this study was supported by the Anthony Marchionne Foundation for the Scientific Study of Human Relations and Psychological Processes Endowed Graduate Summer Research Program at Washington State University to the third author.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Johnson Tower 233, PO Box 644820, 99164-4820, Pullman, WA, USA

    Aurora H. Brinkman & Tammy D. Barry

  2. Oklahoma Pediatric Therapy Center, Yukon, USA

    Rebecca A. Lindsey

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  1. Aurora H. Brinkman
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  2. Tammy D. Barry
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Correspondence to Tammy D. Barry.

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This study was approved by the Washington State University Institutional Review Board in accordance with protection of human subjects. Informed consent was obtained prior to data collection. The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

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Brinkman, A.H., Barry, T.D. & Lindsey, R.A. The Relation of Parental Expressed Emotion, Parental Affiliate Stigma, and Typically-develo** Sibling Internalizing Behavior in Families with a Child with ASD. J Autism Dev Disord 53, 4591–4603 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05760-3

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