Factors Influencing Despair, Self-blame, and Acceptance Among Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A Malaysian Perspective

Abd Latif MH 1 , Wan Ismail WS 2 , Abdul Manaf MR 3 , Abdul Taib NI 4

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 56000, Malaysia
  • 2 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 56000, Malaysia. [email protected]
  • 3 Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, 56000, Malaysia
  • 4 Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, 94300, Malaysia
J Autism Dev Disord, 2023 Nov 21.
PMID: 37987948 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-023-06155-8

Abstract

PURPOSE: Accepting and adapting to the child's diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be challenging for parents. We aimed to assess domains of parental adjustment namely despair, self-blame, and acceptance among parents whose children were diagnosed with ASD.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 111 parents of children with autism who attended Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit (CAPU), in a university teaching hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sociodemographic profiles of both parents and children were gathered. Parental adjustment focusing on parental self-blame, despair and acceptance were assessed using self-reported questionnaires namely Adjustment to the Diagnosis of Autism (ADA).

RESULTS: Higher level of despair was associated with parents who have medical illness (β = 0.214, p = 0.016) and children who received antipsychotic medications (β = 0.329, p 

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Similar publications