Feelings of Empowerment and Coparenting Support for Fathers of Autistic Children

Background

Raising a child with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) can pose a variety of unique challenges to parents, including greater parenting stress, relationship strain, and barriers to services. Fathers in particular struggle to feel empowered to care for and advocate efficaciously on behalf of their autistic child(ren). However, family empowerment can mitigate some of these challenges through improved self-efficacy, knowledge of services, language for advocacy, and more. Nonetheless, the relationship between empowerment outcomes and growth mechanisms remains understudied.

One of those mechanisms, we hypothesize, is coparenting support. Parenting stress increases when coparenting support is lacking, as parents rely on each other extensively to feel efficacious in their parenting and their relationship. Consequently, their capacity as partners and parents is depleted reciprocally by relationship and parenting conflict. Fathers are especially vulnerable as they struggle to manage their frustration without support, which can manifest in helplessness, distress, and even aggression. Therefore, this study examines whether a father’s perception of support from his coparent impacts how he perceives his empowerment as a parent.

Methods

Data was collected through two screening measures as part of a dyadic clinical trial. Biological fathers (n=128) of children (aged 18 months – 8 years) diagnosed with ASC within the past year were recruited through provider referrals, social media advertisements, research registries, and disability support organizations. Participants identified as white (n=86, 67.2%), Black (n=30, 23.4%), and Asian/Pacific Islander (n=5, 3.9%); some participants also identified as Hispanic (n=7, 5.5%).

Perceptions of family empowerment when raising an autistic child are measured by the Family Empowerment Scale (FES); the Family subscale focuses on family dynamics, problem-solving capabilities, self-confidence, self-efficacy, access to resources, and personal and family growth. The ways in which coparents work together to raise their autistic child are measured by the Coparenting Relationship Scale (CRS); the Support subscale includes perceptions of relationship strength, affirmation and appreciation, and mutual communication. We used multiple regression analysis to measure the relationship between fathers’ feelings of empowerment and perceptions of support from their coparents.

Results

Coparent support contributed significantly to fathers’ feelings of empowerment (b=.45, se=.042, p<.001) after controlling for race, level of education, and hours spent working. Higher level of education was negatively associated with empowerment (b=-.162, se=.008, p<.05). More hours spent working (b=-.042, se=.001, p=.61) and whiteness (b=.018, se=.032, p=.83) were not significantly associated with fathers’ empowerment. Approximately 22.4% of the variance in feelings of empowerment can be predicted from perceptions of coparenting support (F=8.64, df=4, p<.001).

Conclusions and Implications

The findings reveal that increased coparent support contributes to stronger feelings of empowerment for fathers, even after controlling for demographic differences. This information could be used to design future interventions targeted at coparents of autistic children. Specifically, researchers could design interventions that promote relationship building and develop coparenting skills that foster family empowerment. Future studies could examine additional factors that improve or degrade family empowerment for coparenting dyads and identify supports to enhance coparenting relationships. Emphasizing the importance of an empowered mindset will benefit the broader autistic community and their families long-term.