(PS11-D94) Child Externalizing Behaviors & Parenting Stress in Children with Developmental Disabilities During the covid-19 pandemic:the Moderating Effects of Parental Psychological Flexibility and Depression

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental disabilities (DD) experience increased amounts of stress and depression, with mothers of children with ASD reporting less positive feelings about parenting (Ingerskoll & Hambrik, 2011; Dukmak & Alkhatib, 2021; Suarez & Baker, 1997), a pattern that is also manifested during the Covid-19 pandemic (Yilmaz et al., 2021). Children with ASD experience significant externalizing behaviors compared to their typically-developing (TD) peers, and the disruption of routine caused by the Covid-19 pandemic may have led to worsened psychiatric symptoms (Sellinger & Elder, 2016; Vasa et al., 2021), which may in turn add to parenting stress. Understanding factors that contribute to parent stress may aid in better supporting parents during crisis situations.  Studies suggest that psychological flexibility, which is the ability to recognize and adapt to emotional or situational demands (Coyne et al., 2021; Moyer & Sandoz, 2015), and maternal depression (Barker, 2012) may moderate the relationship between parental and child distress. This study examined whether the relationship between child externalizing behaviors and parental stress during the Covid-19 pandemic is moderated by (1) psychological flexibility and (2) parental depression.

Forty parents (87.5% female; 60% non-white; 80% ages 35-54) of children with DD/ID (72.5% ASD; 10% Down Syndrome; Mage= 11.60, SDage= 5.62; 77.7% male) participated in this study. Parents completed a measure of parental depression (BDI-II; Beck, 1996), parenting stress (PSI-4-SF; Abidin, 1995), parental psychological flexibility (AAQ-II; Bond et al., 2011), and child’s externalizing behaviors (VABS-III; Sparrow et al., 2016).

Parenting stress positively correlated with child externalizing behaviors (r = 0.64, p = .01). Moderator analyses revealed that psychological flexibility significantly moderated this relationship (B = -.12, p = .05), such that the relationship between child externalizing and parent stress was stronger in parents with lower and average psychological flexibility (B=2.66 & 1.82, ps < .001). Depression scores also significantly moderated this relationship (B = -.13, p = .01), such that the link between child externalizing behavior and parental stress was only present when the parents reported lower and average depressive symptoms (B= 2.48 & 1.20, p < .01).

Taken together, results suggest child externalizing behaviors relate to parenting stress in parents with poorer psychological flexibility, corroborating previous research suggesting psychological flexibility as a moderator of parent and child distress (Moyer & Sandoz, 2015). Conversely, results suggest externalizing behaviors may not predict parenting stress in highly depressed parents. Highly depressed parents of children with DD may already be experiencing elevated parenting stress regardless of child behaviors. Future research should examine factors that mitigate the impact of child externalizing disorders and parent intervention to increase psychological flexibility to aid in reducing parenting stress. These interventions could aid in improving parental outcomes during crisis situations such as the Covid-19 pandemic.