Family economic status, resilience, and subjective well-being of parents whose children have autism spectrum disorder

We examined the relationship between family economic status and subjective well-being in a sample of 126 parents whose children have autism spectrum disorder, and also assessed the mediating role of parents’ resilience. Participants completed the Family Economic Status Questionnaire, the Resilience Questionnaire, and the Subjective Well-Being Questionnaire. The results showed that family economic status was significantly associated with parents’ subjective well-being, and that resilience significantly mediated this relationship. These findings provide novel evidence of the psychological mechanism of how family economic status affects subjective well-being, and contribute to understanding of how family economic status is associated with subjective well-being among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. Our findings indicate that developing interventions to improve resilience is a practical way to reduce the impact of family economic status on the subjective well-being of parents whose children have autism spectrum disorder.