Empowering Fathers of Children with Autism Spectrum Condition: The Role of Parenting Mutuality

Background: Raising a child with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) can pose a variety of challenges to parents, including greater parenting stress, relationship strain, and barriers to services. However, family empowerment can mitigate some of these challenges through improved self-efficacy, knowledge of services, and language for advocacy. Fathers in particular struggle to feel empowered to care and advocate efficaciously for their autistic child(ren). Thus, research is needed to explore the factors that contribute to fathers’ empowerment.

One such factor, we hypothesize, is parenting mutuality, a dimension of the coparental relationship that refers to how well parenting partners work together to handle their child’s condition and raise their family. Parenting stress increases when parents do not feel that they are on the same page in caring for their child(ren), 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, and those in fatherlike roles, are 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 parenting mutuality with his coparent correlates with how he perceives his empowerment as a parent of an autistic child.

Methods: Data was collected through two screening measures as part of a dyadic clinical trial. Male caregivers (n=157) 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=116, 66.7%), Black (n=48, 27.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (n=4, 2.3%), Other (n=2, 1.1%), and more than one race (n=4, 2.3%).

Parent empowerment was 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. Parent mutuality was measured by the Family Management Measure (FaMM) Parent Mutuality subscale, which assesses how well the parenting partners work together to manage their child’s condition and raise their family. Linear regression was used to examine the contribution of parent mutuality to fathers’ empowerment.

Results: Parent mutuality contributed significantly to fathers’ feelings of empowerment (b=.378, SE=.087, p<.001) after controlling for race, level of education, and hours spent working. Higher level of education was slightly negatively associated with empowerment (b=-.094, SE=.029, p<.01). Hours spent working (b=-.001, SE=.003, p=.796) and whiteness (b=-.038, SE=.123, p=.759) were not significantly associated with fathers’ empowerment. The model accounted for 15.3% of the variance in fathers’ feelings of empowerment (F=6.89, df=4, p<.001).

Conclusions and Implications: The findings reveal that greater parent mutuality contributes to stronger feelings of empowerment for fathers, even after controlling for demographic differences. While longitudinal research is needed to determine the causal direction of this relationship, these findings corroborate growing evidence that parenting quality and the coparenting relationship are interdependent. This information could be used to design interventions that promote collaborative family management and develop coparenting skills that foster family empowerment.