The current situation and influencing factors of posttraumatic growth in parents of children with autism: a qualitative study

Abstract Background There is relatively little research in China on the current situation and influencing factors of PTG of parents of children with autism, and the research conclusions are inconsistent. Quantitative research is difficult to deeply depict the dynamic process of PTG of parents of chi...

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Main Authors: Ming Hong, Sansan Lv
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-07-01
Series:BMC Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03059-3
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author Ming Hong
Sansan Lv
author_facet Ming Hong
Sansan Lv
author_sort Ming Hong
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background There is relatively little research in China on the current situation and influencing factors of PTG of parents of children with autism, and the research conclusions are inconsistent. Quantitative research is difficult to deeply depict the dynamic process of PTG of parents of children with autism, and cannot deeply explore the main factors affecting PTG. However, qualitative research has a unique advantage in this regard. Methods 15 parents of autistic children from China participated in the present study. Data collected by one to one in-depth interview which was analyzed by thematic analysis. Results Four themes yielded. They are: significant increase in personal strength; significant improvement in interpersonal relationships; continuously deepening life perception; worry and confusion about the child’s future. The main influencing factors of PTG of parents of autistic children include the support of significant others and the partners, family income, cultural context, social reality and parents’ roles.Parents who experience traumatic events value money more than before, which is different from previous research findings. Conclusions The current status and influencing factors of PTG of Chinese parents of autistic children are different from existing research results and have the characteristics of Chinese cultural context. However, more research results are needed to test it.
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spelling doaj-art-cfb02cb9181f45fea7fd8fa5c4dbb9aa2025-08-20T03:45:39ZengBMCBMC Psychology2050-72832025-07-0113111110.1186/s40359-025-03059-3The current situation and influencing factors of posttraumatic growth in parents of children with autism: a qualitative studyMing Hong0Sansan Lv1Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Development and Education for Special Needs ChildrenDepartment of Psychology, Lingnan Normal UniversityAbstract Background There is relatively little research in China on the current situation and influencing factors of PTG of parents of children with autism, and the research conclusions are inconsistent. Quantitative research is difficult to deeply depict the dynamic process of PTG of parents of children with autism, and cannot deeply explore the main factors affecting PTG. However, qualitative research has a unique advantage in this regard. Methods 15 parents of autistic children from China participated in the present study. Data collected by one to one in-depth interview which was analyzed by thematic analysis. Results Four themes yielded. They are: significant increase in personal strength; significant improvement in interpersonal relationships; continuously deepening life perception; worry and confusion about the child’s future. The main influencing factors of PTG of parents of autistic children include the support of significant others and the partners, family income, cultural context, social reality and parents’ roles.Parents who experience traumatic events value money more than before, which is different from previous research findings. Conclusions The current status and influencing factors of PTG of Chinese parents of autistic children are different from existing research results and have the characteristics of Chinese cultural context. However, more research results are needed to test it.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03059-3Children with autismParentsAdaptabilityInfluencing factorsThematic analysis
spellingShingle Ming Hong
Sansan Lv
The current situation and influencing factors of posttraumatic growth in parents of children with autism: a qualitative study
BMC Psychology
Children with autism
Parents
Adaptability
Influencing factors
Thematic analysis
title The current situation and influencing factors of posttraumatic growth in parents of children with autism: a qualitative study
title_full The current situation and influencing factors of posttraumatic growth in parents of children with autism: a qualitative study
title_fullStr The current situation and influencing factors of posttraumatic growth in parents of children with autism: a qualitative study
title_full_unstemmed The current situation and influencing factors of posttraumatic growth in parents of children with autism: a qualitative study
title_short The current situation and influencing factors of posttraumatic growth in parents of children with autism: a qualitative study
title_sort current situation and influencing factors of posttraumatic growth in parents of children with autism a qualitative study
topic Children with autism
Parents
Adaptability
Influencing factors
Thematic analysis
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03059-3
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