@article{c5d1942f3f1744f79ae7d66d08254af9,
title = "Mothers{\textquoteright} Reactions to Their Child{\textquoteright}s ASD Diagnosis: Predictors That Discriminate Grief from Distress",
abstract = "We examined whether grief and general distress reactions characterized mothers{\textquoteright} reactions to their child{\textquoteright}s ASD diagnosis, and whether these two types of reactions had unique predictors. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted on data collected from 362 mothers recruited from the Interactive Autism Network (IAN). The mothers were predominantly white, highly educated, and married. Grief reactions were positively associated with perceiving ASD as a loss and as unjust. Distress was positively associated with previous mental health issues, mothers{\textquoteright} reports of their child{\textquoteright}s aggressive behavior, identity ambiguity, and less social support. Internal attributions were positively related to grief and distress. Discussion focuses on why the distinction between these two types of affective reactions may be useful for parents and professionals.",
keywords = "Autism-Spectrum Disorder, Distress, Grief, Identity ambiguity, Perceptions of loss",
author = "Wayment, {Heidi A.} and Brookshire, {Kristina A.}",
note = "Funding Information: We would like to acknowledge the financial support for this project from the Department of Psychological Sciences, the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the Graduate College at Northern Arizona University. This study was part of the second author?s work while enrolled in the masters? program in the Department of Psychological Sciences at NAU. HAW conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, performed the statistical analyses, conducted a secondary literature review, drafted the manuscript; KAB participated in the design, conducted the initial literature review, coordinated questionnaire development, and data collection. Both HAW and KAB coordinated with IAN in order to collect the data. Both authors read, edited, and approved the final manuscript. We would like to thank Rosemary Al-Kire for her help with updating the literature review. Funding Information: Acknowledgments We would like to acknowledge the financial support for this project from the Department of Psychological Sciences, the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the Graduate College at Northern Arizona University. This study was part of the second author{\textquoteright}s work while enrolled in the masters{\textquoteright} program in the Department of Psychological Sciences at NAU. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.",
year = "2018",
month = apr,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1007/s10803-017-3266-2",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "48",
pages = "1147--1158",
journal = "Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders",
issn = "0162-3257",
publisher = "Springer New York",
number = "4",
}