Daily Hassles and Relationship Satisfaction in Parents of Pre-School and School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Moderating Role of Spousal/Partner Support

Background: Few studies have examined relationship satisfaction of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  Yet, parents of children with ASD report lower levels of marital/relationship satisfaction and higher divorce rates than parents of children without a disability (Gau, et al., 2010; Hartley et al., 2010).  Thus, an important area of study is identifying factors that may impact and protect marital/relationship functioning among parents of children with ASD. 

Objectives: The current study examined the relationship between daily hassles associated with children’s challenging behaviors, spousal/partner support, and relationship satisfaction among parents of children with ASD.  Specifically, it was hypothesized that greater levels of daily hassles would be significantly associated with lower levels of relationship satisfaction.  Additionally, spousal/partner support was expected to be positively associated with relationship satisfaction.  Furthermore, spousal/partner support was expected to moderate the association between daily hassles and relationship satisfaction. 

Methods: The current study consisted of 130 parents (65 dyads) of children with ASD (2.5-10.8 years of age) who participated in a larger study examining the association between child symptomatology and parental well-being and family functioning. Parents were between the ages of 27 – 62 years, and represented a diverse range of ethnicities (54% White/Hispanic, 35% White/Non-Hispanic, 11% Other/Mixed Ethnicity).  Parents completed the Parenting Daily Hassles Scale as a measure of every day parenting stress associated with challenging behaviors (Crnic & Greenberg 1990; Crnic & Booth 1991), the Couples Satisfaction Index as a measure of relationship satisfaction (CSI; Funk & Rogge, 2007), and the Informal Social Support scale as a measure of spousal/partner support (Schuster et al., 1990; Whalen & Lachman, 2000).

Results: A hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine links between daily hassles, spousal/partner support, and relationship satisfaction.  Results indicated that higher levels of daily hassles was related to lower levels of relationship satisfaction (F (1,128) = 4.217, p <.05 ) and higher levels of spousal/partner support was related to higher levels of relationship satisfaction (F (2,127)= 93.795, p <.001).  Furthermore, spousal/partner support was found to buffer the relationship between daily hassles and relationship satisfaction (F (3,126) = 71.389, p <.001).  Post-hoc analyses revealed that when spousal/partner support was low, increased daily hassles was significantly associated with lower relationship satisfaction (t (126) = -2.679, p = .008).  When spousal/partner support was high, increased daily hassles was not significantly associated with relationship satisfaction (t(126)= -1.294, p = .198).     

Conclusions: Results suggest that parenting stress associated with daily hassles may have adverse effects on marital/relationship functioning.  However, spousal/partner support protected against the negative effect of daily stress associated with challenging behaviors.  Future interventions should stress the importance of dyadic coping in the face of such challenges, thus strengthening parents’ relationship.