Fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder: Their perceptions of paternal role a predictor of caregiving satisfaction, self-efficacy and burden

• Published in: Research in autism spectrum disorders Vol. 83; p. 101744
• Main Authors: Rudelli, Nicola, Straccia, Claudio, Petitpierre, Geneviève
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2021
• Subjects: Caregiving burden; Caregiving satisfaction; Challenging behaviours; Fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder; Paternal role; Self-efficacy; Social support; Fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder; Self-efficacy; Caregiving burden; Caregiving satisfaction; Paternal role; Challenging behaviours; Social support
• ISSN: 1750-9467; 1878-0237
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rasd.2021.101744

•Fathers of children with ASD’ satisfaction with caregiving is linked to their perceptions of paternal role.•Many fathers of children with ASD feel a lack of social support.•Feelings of a lack of support are linked to caregiving burden.•Children’s challenging behaviours are negatively associated with fathers’ feelings of caregiving self-efficacy.•Fathers more satisfied with social support are less prone to the feeling of being overburdened as a parent.•Fathers’ personal experiences and perceptions are to be considered. The positive effect of a father’s involvement in children’s upbringing is now recognised. However, research on fathers raising children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are still few. This study examines the relationship between the perception, fathers of children with ASD have of the importance of their role in the development of their children and the feelings (self-efficacy, caregiving burden, satisfaction) they express about their parenting experience. Sixty-three Swiss Italian fathers of children with ASD completed The Role of the Father Questionnaire (ROFQ), three sub-scales of the Caregiver Survey, a subtest of the Child Adjustment and Parent Efficacy Scale and a home-made questionnaire measuring Perceived Social Support. The results from hierarchical multiple regression analyses show that the importance that fathers attach to the paternal role predicts positively their caregiving satisfaction and their feeling of self-efficacy. The children’s challenging behaviours predict positively the caregiving burden whereas the assessment of social support predicts it negatively. The perception of the importance of the paternal role needs to be considered in the support offered to families with a child with ASD. A better understanding of the fathers’ feelings could be of value for the programmes.