An explorative study of affiliate stigma, resilience, and quality of life among parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Salleh, Noor Shuhada and Tang, Li Yoong and Jayanath, Subhashini and Abdullah, Khatijah Lim and Abstract, Video (2022) An explorative study of affiliate stigma, resilience, and quality of life among parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 15. pp. 2053-2066. ISSN 1178-2390, DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/JMDH.S376869.

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Purpose: Children diagnosed with ASD usually have impaired social functions, exhibit repetitive, stereotyped and self-stimulatory behaviors, which make them prone to be stigmatized by the public. However, stigma not only affects those with stigmatization characteristics such as children with ASD but also tends to include other people related to them including parents. This is called affiliate stigma. However, affiliate stigma is unlikely to occur if public awareness is high. Considering that awareness of ASD is still comparatively low in this region and that, as a review of the literature showed, there have been limited studies on stigma and ASD conducted in South-East Asia, particularly in Malaysia, this study is of great significance, especially in the context of the East and other developing countries. The aim of this study was to explore parents' experiences of caring and perceptions of affiliate stigma, resilience and quality of life (QoL) when caring for a child with ASD.Methods: This paper is part of the sequential explanatory mixed-methods study in which, after a cross-sectional study of 144 parents, a qualitative approach was used to explore parents' experiences of caring and their perceptions of affiliate stigma, resilience, and QoL. Participants were recruited when they were accompanying their children to therapy at two tertiary public hospitals in one of the north-eastern states of Malaysia. Eleven parents of children with ASD aged 2-12 years participated. Qualitative data analysis followed Braun and Clarke's methodology of thematic analysis.Results: Four themes were identified: the meaning of QoL, ASD and life adjustment, perceived stigma, and resilience.Conclusion: This is the first Southeast Asian study on parent-perceived affiliate stigma, resilience, and QoL in the context of ASD. These findings can inform healthcare personnel and policymakers into day-to-day parenting realities and therefore an effort to coordinate support services across all disciplines could be made to improve outcomes for both parents and children.

Item Type: Article
Funders: Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia and Universiti Sains Malaysia through the Academic Staff Training Scheme (ASTS)
Uncontrolled Keywords: Autistic disorder; Child; Parents; Social stigma; Quality of life
Subjects: R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics
R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics > Child health. Child health services
Divisions: Faculty of Medicine > Nursing Science Department
Faculty of Medicine > Paediatrics Department
Depositing User: Ms. Juhaida Abd Rahim
Date Deposited: 06 Nov 2023 06:03
Last Modified: 06 Nov 2023 06:03
URI: http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/41498

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item