Family function, Parenting Style and Broader Autism ‎Phenotype as Predicting Factors of Psychological ‎Adjustment in Typically Developing Siblings of Children with ‎Autism Spectrum Disorders

Objective: Siblings of children ‎with autism are at a greater risk ‎of experiencing behavioral and ‎social problems. Previous ‎researches had focused on ‎environmental variables such as ‎family history of autism spectrum ‎disorders (ASDs), behavior ‎problems in the child with an ‎ASD, parental mental health ‎problems, stressful life events ‎and "broader autism phenotype" ‎‎(BAP), while variables like ‎parenting style and family ‎function that are shown to ‎influence children’s behavioral ‎and psychosocial adjustment are ‎overlooked. The aim of the ‎present study was to reveal how ‎parenting style and family ‎function as well as BAP effect ‎psychological adjustment of ‎siblings of children with autism‏.‏ Method: The Participants ‎included 65 parents who had one ‎child with an Autism Spectrum ‎Disorder and one typically ‎developing child. Of the children ‎with ASDs, 40 were boys and 25 ‎were girls; and they were ‎diagnosed with ASDs by a ‎psychiatrist based on DSM-IV-TR ‎criteria and Autism Diagnostic ‎Interview-Revised (ADI-R). The ‎Persian versions of the six scales ‎were used to collect data from ‎the families. Pearsonʹs ‎correlation test and regression ‎analysis were used to determine ‎which variables were related to ‎the psychological adjustment of ‎sibling of children with ASDs and ‎which variables predicted it ‎better‏. ‏ Results: Significant relationships ‎were found between Strengths ‎and Difficulties Questionnaire ‎‎(SDQ) total difficulties, prosocial ‎behaviors and ASDs symptoms ‎severity, parenting styles and ‎some aspects of family function. ‎In addition, siblings who had ‎more BAP characteristics had ‎more behavior problems and ‎less prosocial behavior. ‎Behavioral problems increased ‎and prosocial behavior ‎decreased with permissive ‎parenting style. Besides, both of ‎authoritarian and authoritative ‎parenting styles led to a decrease ‎in behavioral problems and an ‎increase in prosocial behaviors. ‎Our findings revealed that some ‎aspects of family function ‎‎(affective responsiveness, roles, ‎problem solving and behavior ‎control) were significantly ‎correlated with behavioral ‎problems and prosocial ‎behaviors in typically developing ‎‎(TD) siblings of children with ‎ASDs‏.‏ Conclusion: Siblings of children ‎with ASDs, due to genetic liability, ‎are at a greater risk of ‎psychological maladjustment. ‎Furthermore, environmental ‎factors like parenting styles and ‎family function also have a ‎significant effect on ‎psychological maladjustment.‎