Assessing the quality and readability of patient information available for shockwave lithotripsy: Human versus artificial intelligence comparison of resources and quality measurements - A benchmarking

Parents of autistic children report varying couple relationship experiences. As a group, parents of autistic children have a higher risk of separation or divorce (; ) and report lower average couple relationship satisfaction than parents of children without neurodevelopmental conditions (; ). However, making up this average is significant variability; many couples of autistic children report long-lasting couple relationships (), feel highly satisfied in their couple relationship (; ; ), and claim that their shared unique parenting experiences have brought them closer to their partner (Hock, Timm, & Ramisch, 2013). Notably, the couple relationship is theorized to play a central role in shaping the parent-child relationship (). In part, parents in satisfying (versus unsatisfying) couple relationships are posited to be better able to jointly manage and cope with everyday problems and stressors, leaving them with more emotional and cognitive resources to invest in the parent-child relationship. The goal of the current study was to examine concurrent associations between couple relationship satisfaction (both one’s own and one’s partner’s) and parent-child relationship quality and the mediating role of dyadic coping on this association in a sample of 186 families of autistic children. Family systems theories posit that individual members and the dyadic subsystems that comprise a family (e.g., couple relationship, parent-child relationship, sibling relationship) are interconnected (). The functioning of one dyadic subsystem thus has implications for the functioning of other dyadic subsystems. A large body of research supports this premise, particularly when considering connections between the quality of the couple relationship and the parent-child relationship in studies on the general population (; ). One mechanism proposed to explain why better-quality couple relationships are associated with better-quality parent-child relationships in two-parent households is dyadic coping. The term dyadic coping refers to how well partners within a couple work together to manage and resolve problems and stressors (Bodenmann, 2005). Specifically, parents in satisfying couple relationships use more positive and fewer negative dyadic coping behaviors when faced with everyday problems or stressors (). Positive dyadic coping behaviors involve responding empathically and supportively and helping to identify and enact solutions to problems experienced by one or both partners (Bodenmann, 2005). In contrast, negative dyadic coping behaviors include responding in disparaging, unhelpful, or distancing ways when one’s partner is faced with a problem or stressor. Parents in the general population () and those of autistic children (; Downes et al., 2020; Lopez et al., 2016; ) who report high satisfaction in their couple relationship tend to use fewer negative and more positive dyadic coping strategies to manage daily stressors, compared to those with lower relationship satisfaction. Parents of autistic children report a higher number of day-to-day problems and stressors than parents of neurotypical children (). These day-to-day problems and stressors can stem from a variety of factors, including child co-occurring mental health problems (Piro-Gambetti et al., 2022), difficulties navigating educational and health service systems (; ), stigma and discrimination associated with autism (), and out-of-pocket financial costs related to therapies and services for their autistic child (). In two-parent households, one’s partner is often the primary source of support for managing parenting-related challenges (; ; Weitlauf et al., 2012). Thus, parents in satisfying couple relationships benefit from positive dyadic coping behaviors, which may allow them to manage daily parenting problems and stressors more effectively. In turn, these parents may have more resources to foster warm and supportive parent-child interactions. Indeed, parents of autistic children in more satisfying couple relationships have been reported to engage in more responsive parenting behaviors (e.g., warmth/responsiveness) (; ). To date, however, research examining the association between couple relationship quality and parent-child relationship quality in families of autistic children has yet to determine if dyadic coping is an important mediator of this association. Moreover, past studies focused on one parent (typically mothers) in the relationship without examination of cross-partner effects. Considering the bidirectional influences of individual coping on family functioning and relationship satisfaction, it is important to examine specific actor and partner effects of these related factors to identify critical areas for family interventions to target families of autistic children.