Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Summer 6-9-2025

Journal / Book Title

Journal of Rehabilitation Practices and Research

Abstract

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate resilience and resourcefulness in managing the demands of caregiving. This study highlights the critical role of family based support as a social determinant of health-protective factor (SDHPF) that enhances the well-being of parents, helping to mitigate depressive symptoms. Using a secondary dataset of 199 parents/ caregivers of children with ASD, this study examines how family based support, child symptom severity, and financial resources (income) influence parental mental health. The findings show that strong family support is positively associated with lower levels of depression, underscoring the strength of social networks in enhancing mental health. Results suggest that fostering family-based support systems can be a powerful tool in promoting resilience and reducing depression in parents of children with ASD. The study’s implications for professional development and training, clinical practice, and policy development focus on leveraging these strengths to further support the mental health of caregivers.

Comments

©2025, This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

DOI

10.33790/jrpr1100172

Published Citation

Duyile, B. E., Wheeler, N. (2025). Family-based support as a social determinant of health-protective factor for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. J Rehab Pract Res 6(1): 172 https://doi.org/10.33790/jrpr1100172

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