Posttraumatic Growth Among Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in China and Its Relationship to Family Function and Mental Resilience: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: This study was conducted to examine the posttraumatic growth (PTG) of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the association among family function, mental resilience and PTG.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 205 parents of children with ASD in the clinical department of a university-affiliated hospital in Guangzhou from January to October 2019. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, Family Assessment Device, and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale were employed for data collection.

Results: The mean PTG score of parents was 59.56±18.46; and 24.63%, 43.84%, and 32.51% of parents exhibited a high level, moderate level and low level, respectively, of PTG. The problem-solving dimension of family function (p = 0.005) and the strength dimension of mental resilience (p ≤0.001) were positively related to PTG.

Conclusions: Parents of children with ASD experienced moderate PTG overall. The problem-solving dimension of family function and the strength dimension of mental resilience were significant predictors of PTG. Conclusions: Interventions to improve family function and the mental resilience of parents with ASD children could contribute to improving the PTG of parents.