TY - JOUR
T1 - Maternal and paternal insightfulness and reaction to the diagnosis in families of preschoolers with Autism spectrum disorder
T2 - associations with observed parental sensitivity and inter-parent interaction
AU - Oppenheim, David
AU - Koren-Karie, Nina
AU - Slonim, Michal
AU - Mottes-Peleg, Michal
AU - Sher-Censor, Efrat
AU - Dolev, Smadar
AU - Yirmiya, Nurit
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Sensitivity among parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is based on parental insightfulness and on resolution regarding the child’s diagnosis. This has been supported in studies of mothers, and we examined whether the same is true regarding fathers. Also, we asked whether parents’ Insightfulness and Resolution tap general mentalization and therefore also be expressed in parent-parent interactions. Eighty preschooler boys with ASD and both of their parents participated. As expected, fathers who were more insightful and mothers who were more resolved were more sensitive. Contrary to expectations, no associations were found between fathers’ resolution and mothers’ insightfulness and their sensitivity. Associations were found between parental insightfulness and resolution and positive parent-parent interaction. The findings are the first to demonstrate the insightfulness-sensitivity link among fathers of children with ASD. Also, they suggest that both insightfulness and resolution involve general mentalization that is evident both in parent-child and parent-parent interactions.
AB - Sensitivity among parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is based on parental insightfulness and on resolution regarding the child’s diagnosis. This has been supported in studies of mothers, and we examined whether the same is true regarding fathers. Also, we asked whether parents’ Insightfulness and Resolution tap general mentalization and therefore also be expressed in parent-parent interactions. Eighty preschooler boys with ASD and both of their parents participated. As expected, fathers who were more insightful and mothers who were more resolved were more sensitive. Contrary to expectations, no associations were found between fathers’ resolution and mothers’ insightfulness and their sensitivity. Associations were found between parental insightfulness and resolution and positive parent-parent interaction. The findings are the first to demonstrate the insightfulness-sensitivity link among fathers of children with ASD. Also, they suggest that both insightfulness and resolution involve general mentalization that is evident both in parent-child and parent-parent interactions.
KW - Autism spectrum disorder
KW - fathers
KW - insightfulness
KW - mentalization
KW - resolution of child diagnosis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85187160615&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2024.2326416
DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2024.2326416
M3 - Article
C2 - 38451115
SN - 1461-6734
VL - 26
SP - 22
EP - 40
JO - Attachment and Human Development
JF - Attachment and Human Development
IS - 1
ER -