Modeling relations among coparenting quality, autism-specific parenting self-efficacy, and parenting stress in mothers and fathers of children with ASD

Objective: Coparenting quality has been linked to both parenting stress and parenting self-efficacy in families of typically developing children, but little is known about relations between these factors in families where there is a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study employed structural equation modeling to explore relations among coparenting quality, autism-specific parenting self-efficacy, and parenting stress in mothers and fathers of children with an ASD. Design: A cohort of biological mothers (n = 80) and fathers (n = 72) who were caring for their young child (age < 13) with a diagnosed ASD self-completed validated surveys assessing parenting stress, coparenting quality, and autism-specific parenting self-efficacy. Results: Both mothers and fathers reported high and similar levels of parenting stress which shared predictive relations with both coparenting quality and autism-specific parenting self-efficacy. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that the relations between perceptions of autism-specific parenting self-efficacy and parenting stress were mediated by coparenting quality. Conclusion: Coparenting quality shares an important relation with parenting stress in both mothers and fathers of children with an ASD, and enhanced perceptions of autism-specific parenting self-efficacy are unlikely to influence parenting stress when parents experience poor quality coparenting