Comparison of mental health, well-being and parenting sense of competency among Australian and South-East Asian parents of autistic children accessing early intervention in Australia
Authors: Smith Jodie , Sulek Rhylee , Abdullahi Ifrah , Green Cherie C , Bent Catherine A , Dissanayake Cheryl , Hudry Kristelle 
Published: April 2021

Parents from individualist cultures (those focused on autonomy of individuals; that is, Australian) may view their autistic children differently compared to parents from collectivist cultures (where community needs are valued over an individual’s, that is, South-East Asian cultures). As most research on autism and parenting has been undertaken in Western individualist cultures, knowledge of parenting beliefs and mental health within collectivist cultures is lacking. We compared the mental health, quality of life, well-being and parenting sense of competency between families raising an autistic child from two groups: 97 Australian parents and 58 parents from South-East Asian backgrounds. Children from both groups were receiving the same community-based early intervention. No group differences were found on the measures of mental health but, when compared to Australian parents, parents from South-East Asian backgrounds reported higher well-being and less impact on their quality of life resulting from their child’s autism-specific difficulties. Furthermore, a positive association between well-being and quality of life was only observed for South-East Asian parents. Hence, the views of, and responses to, disability for South-East Asian parents may act as a protective factor promoting well-being. This novel research indicates that culture plays a role in parenting autistic children and highlights the need to accurately capture cultural background information in research.

Lay abstract

We know that parents of autistic children experience poorer mental health and lower well-being than parents of non-autistic children. We also know that poorer mental health among parents of autistic children has been observed across different cultures. Most research focuses on Western cultures, so we know little about parental mental health and well-being of parents from different cultural backgrounds; yet, it is likely that cultural background contributes to how parents view their child’s condition and respond to the diagnosis. Here, we compared mental health, quality of life and well-being between families raising an autistic child from Australian backgrounds to families from South-East Asian backgrounds. All children in the current study were receiving the same community-based early intervention. When compared to the general population, parents had poorer mental health overall, but there were no differences between the two groups of parents. However, parents from South-East Asian backgrounds reported higher well-being and fewer difficulties associated with their child’s autism. These findings suggest that cultural background likely influences not only parent’s view of, and response to, their child’s autism, but also their own sense of well-being. As researchers and clinicians working with families of autistic children, we should more explicitly consider family’s cultural background within our work.