Parenting styles, coparenting and behavior problems in children with autism: a correlational study

Abstract

This research had as main objective to verify the relationships between the predominant parenting styles, the dimensions of coparenting and the behavior problems in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This investigation is charac-terized as exploratory, descriptive and correlational. Fathers (n = 45) and mothers (n = 45) of children diagnosed with ASD, with a mean age of 59 months, participated. Data were collected at the Specialized Center for Physical and Intellectual Rehabilitation in southern Brazil. First, a sociodemographic questionnaire was applied and then the following instruments were applied to each member of the couple: Questionnaire on Dimensions of Parenting Styles, Coparental Relationship Scale and Capacity and Difficulties Questionnaire. Through statistical correlation analyzes, it was found that the permissive and authoritarian parenting styles were associated with a negative coparental relationship with little partner support, exposure to conflicts and a boycott of parental functions. In addition, this type of coparental relationship had a positive relationship with behavioral problems of children with ASD. This research advances the knowledge of studies in the field of parenting by high-lighting the bidirectional relationship between the behavior of children with ASD and the parental and coparental subsystems. However, the results cannot be generalized to all families of children with ASD, due to the limited sample size, instruments and analyzes used.