Predicting Distress in Parents of Individuals with Autism. Experiential Avoidance and Sense of Coherence

Abstract Research has systematically found a high prevalence of psychological distress among parents of autistic individuals. This study assessed the fit of a theoretical model examining the role of experiential avoidance and sense of coherence (i.e. comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness) as predictors of parental depression, anxiety, and stress. 115 parents of autistic individuals participated in the study. A path analysis predicting depression, anxiety, and stress was conducted using Mplus7. The tested model showed a good fit to the data, accounting for 46.50%, 43.50%, and 60.50% of the variance in depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. The results revealed that (1) higher experiential avoidance and lower meaningfulness, comprehensibility, and family income predicted greater depressive symptoms, (2) higher experiential avoidance and reduced comprehensibility predicted higher anxiety, (3) higher experiential avoidance and lower meaningfulness predicted higher stress, and (4) higher levels of self-injurious behaviour predicted lower comprehensibility. As revealed by these findings, experiential avoidance emerged as a statistically significant predictor across outcomes. However, the relative importance of the remaining predictors varied with the outcome being tested. Also, it is also noteworthy that self-injurious behaviour negatively predicted comprehensibility, suggesting that parents may have had limited understanding of this behaviour. Altogether, these findings may provide nuanced understanding on the relationship between sense of coherence, experiential avoidance, and parental distress, and provide potential intervention targets to help parents caring for autistic individuals.