The Impact of Child’s Severity on Quality-of-Life among
Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder:
The Mediating Role of Optimism
Manika Wisessathorn MSc*,
Chanuantong Tanasugarn DrPH*, Edwin B Fisher PhD**
Affiliation :
* Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
** Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States
Objective : Investigate the impact of child severity and optimism on quality-of-life in parents of children with Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD). Additionally, the role of optimism as mediator between child’s severity and parental quality-of-life was
also evaluated.
Material and Method: Three hundred three parents of children with ASD were recruited from the local autistic centers and
schools in Bangkok, Thailand. A set of demographic information sheet, the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), the Life
Oriented Test-Revised (LOT-R), and the WHOQOL-BREF test were submitted for collecting parental information.
Results : Using Pearson Correlation, a significant negative association was found between child’s severity and parental
quality-of-life while optimism was found to correlate positively with parental outcomes. The finding from path-analysis
confirmed that impairment of language and repetitive behavior of an ASD child associated with optimism that, in turn,
predicted level of parental quality-of-life in all domains.
Conclusion : The current findings assured a role of optimism as mediator between child’s severity and parental quality-of-
life. Implications for the development of intervention focused on enhancing parent’s optimism were recommended.
Keywords : Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Optimism, Quality-of-life, Mediating role
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