Charting a new path forward - Maternal cognitive adaptation to child’s autism diagnosis in relation to their psychological functioning / Magdalena KRÓL in Research in Autism, 132 (April 2026)  

Public ISBD [article]  inResearch in Autism > 132 (April 2026) . - 202869 Titre : Charting a new path forward - Maternal cognitive adaptation to child’s autism diagnosis in relation to their psychological functioning Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Magdalena KRÓL, Auteur ; Agata TOKAREK, Auteur ; MaÅ‚gorzata GAMIAN-WILK, Auteur ; Grażyna JOPEK-KUREK, Auteur ; Paulina MOFFITT, Auteur ; Kinga FERENC, Auteur Article en page(s) : 202869 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : Autism spectrum disorder  Maternal adaptation  Cognitive coping mechanisms  Psychological wellbeing  Caregiver burden Résumé : Child’s autism diagnosis is a significant and often challenging event for the parents, requiring psychological adjustment and adaptation. We explored how various patterns of thinking that emerge in response to a child's diagnosis, relate to parental mental health and well-being. We developed and validated the Maternal Cognitive Adaptation to Child's Autism Diagnosis (MCACAD) scale in a sample of 443 mothers of children aged 2–18 years. We identified five distinct cognitive adaptation mechanisms: Belief in Recovery, Comparisons, Belief in Family Growth, Belief in Personal Growth, and Denial of Diagnosis. Factor analysis revealed good psychometric properties, with the five-factor structure explaining 59.63 % of total variance. Results showed that meaning-focused adaptations (Belief in Personal and Family Growth) were associated with better mental health outcomes, while Social Comparisons predicted poorer outcomes. Denial of Diagnosis was associated with increased anxiety, but also was inversely associated with time since diagnosis, suggesting it may act as a shield against initial change-related uncertainty. We have also found that Caregiver burden was the strongest predictor of psychological functioning across all measures. These findings suggest that understanding maternal cognitive adaptations may help identify parents needing additional support and inform interventions promoting adaptive coping strategies following child’s autism diagnosis. En ligne : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reia.2026.202869 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=583 [article] Charting a new path forward - Maternal cognitive adaptation to child’s autism diagnosis in relation to their psychological functioning [texte imprimé] / Magdalena KRÓL, Auteur ; Agata TOKAREK, Auteur ; MaÅ‚gorzata GAMIAN-WILK, Auteur ; Grażyna JOPEK-KUREK, Auteur ; Paulina MOFFITT, Auteur ; Kinga FERENC, Auteur . - 202869. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Research in Autism > 132 (April 2026) . - 202869 Mots-clés : Autism spectrum disorder  Maternal adaptation  Cognitive coping mechanisms  Psychological wellbeing  Caregiver burden Résumé : Child’s autism diagnosis is a significant and often challenging event for the parents, requiring psychological adjustment and adaptation. We explored how various patterns of thinking that emerge in response to a child's diagnosis, relate to parental mental health and well-being. We developed and validated the Maternal Cognitive Adaptation to Child's Autism Diagnosis (MCACAD) scale in a sample of 443 mothers of children aged 2–18 years. We identified five distinct cognitive adaptation mechanisms: Belief in Recovery, Comparisons, Belief in Family Growth, Belief in Personal Growth, and Denial of Diagnosis. Factor analysis revealed good psychometric properties, with the five-factor structure explaining 59.63 % of total variance. Results showed that meaning-focused adaptations (Belief in Personal and Family Growth) were associated with better mental health outcomes, while Social Comparisons predicted poorer outcomes. Denial of Diagnosis was associated with increased anxiety, but also was inversely associated with time since diagnosis, suggesting it may act as a shield against initial change-related uncertainty. We have also found that Caregiver burden was the strongest predictor of psychological functioning across all measures. These findings suggest that understanding maternal cognitive adaptations may help identify parents needing additional support and inform interventions promoting adaptive coping strategies following child’s autism diagnosis. En ligne : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reia.2026.202869 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=583

---

1 (1 - 1 / 1) Par page : 25 50 100 200