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Factors associated with resilience among parents of autistic children

Prepared by AIFS, July 2026

Related to Autism, Supporting parents with mental illness

A research summary of:

Md Salim, N. S., Idris, I. B., Nor, N. K., Roslan, S., Abdul Rashid, N., Ibrahim, R., & Abd Rahman, F. N. (2026). Factors associated with resilience among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review. PLOS ONE 21(6), e0351969. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0351969.

This systematic review examines 13 studies that explore factors associated with resilience among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. Higher resilience was associated with older parental age, stable employment, positive mental health and self-compassion. Lower resilience was associated with financial strain, parental stress and maladaptive coping strategies. Parents generally reported greater resilience when their child had strong social support networks and fewer behavioural challenges.

Why is this important?

  • Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder often experience ongoing caregiving demands, stress, anxiety, financial pressures and impacts on family relationships. These can affect their wellbeing and quality of life.
  • Resilience can help parents adapt to these challenges and maintain wellbeing. However, evidence about the factors that support or hinder resilience among parents of autistic children has been inconsistent.

What did they do?

  • The authors conducted a systematic review of studies published from January 2019 to May 2025 to identify factors associated with resilience among parents of autistic children under 18 years of age.
  • Thirteen studies from eight countries met the inclusion criteria. Most studies were quantitative and involved mothers of autistic children.

What did they find?

  • Higher resilience was associated with factors such as older parental age, stable employment, higher household income, positive mental health, optimism, self-compassion, effective emotion regulation and constructive coping strategies.
  • Lower resilience was associated with financial strain, parenting stress, caregiving burden, anxiety, depression and maladaptive coping strategies.
  • Parents tended to report greater resilience when their child had fewer behavioural challenges, fewer co-occurring conditions and stronger social adjustment skills.
  • Strong support from partners, family members, peers and formal services was consistently associated with higher parental resilience.
  • Most included studies were cross-sectional (i.e. data was collected from a single point in time) and used a range of different measurement tools. As a result, the review identified factors associated with resilience but could not determine whether these factors directly cause changes in resilience.

What does this mean for practice?

  • Supporting parent wellbeing is likely to be an important part of supporting autistic children.
  • Practitioners should be aware that parental resilience is influenced by a range of factors, including family circumstances, child-related challenges and financial pressures. While some of these factors may be difficult to change, practitioners can help strengthen resilience by supporting parents’ coping skills, emotion regulation, self-compassion and access to supportive relationships and services.

A note on language

While some people and organisations may promote the use of ‘person-first language’ when talking about disability (e.g. ‘child with autism’), many individuals in the neurodivergent community advocate for ‘identity-first language’ (e.g. ‘autistic child’).1 This is based on the belief that autism is an intrinsic part of a person’s identity, not a ‘problem’ that can be separated from it.

Based on insights from the literature, guidance from parents with lived experience of autism and the Australian Government’s National Roadmap to Improve the Health and Mental Health of Autistic People, Emerging Minds has chosen to use identity-first language in this resource.

Everyone’s preferences are different, so we encourage you to ask the children and families you work with about their preferred terminology.

1. Taboas, A., Doepke, K., & Zimmerman, C. (2023). Preferences for identity-first versus person-first language in a US sample of autism stakeholders. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 27(2), 565–570. DOI: 10.1177/13623613221130845.

This summary is one of the child mental health research highlights for June 2026, prepared by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS).

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