Correlates of Social Support and Family Quality of Life in Chinese Caregivers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ABSTRACT

This article identified social support and family quality of life in caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and examined the correlations between the two variables. Survey research was conducted with 165 caregivers of children with ASD in Sichuan province of China using the Social Support Rating Scale and Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale. The results revealed that caregivers of children with ASD perceived a moderate level of social support and a medium level of satisfaction on family quality of life. Social support and family quality of life were significantly positively correlated and social support had a positive predictive power on family quality of life. On this basis, it was suggested to develop a social support program for helping families create a beneficial family environment for the development of children with ASD.

KEYWORDS:

• Autism spectrum disorder
• caregivers
• China
• family quality of life
• objective support
• social support
• subjective support
• utilisation of support

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Sichuan Special Education Development Research Center [SCTJ-2019-03] and Palacky University Olomouc [PdF_UVV_2021_003].