Executive Function’s Association with Mental Health Outcomes, Caregiver Strain, and Well-Being in Parents of Autistic Children: A Dyadic Analysis

Background Parents of autistic children report higher levels of depression and anxiety symptoms, more caregiver strain, and poorer well-being than parents of non-autistic children. Though more research has begun to investigate how parent-specific factors may influence these outcomes, few consider cognitive factors like executive function (EF). Emotion regulation and self-inhibition, two kinds of EF skills, may be particularly relevant given their documented benefits and associations with these constructs in the general population. Another important consideration when investigating the needs of parents is the interconnectedness of the family unit. Extant literature has documented the many links between parents’ mental health, stress, and well-being. Thus, methodologies that consider this shared context within parenting dyads is needed to appropriately address their needs. Methods Our sample consisted of 263 different-sex parenting dyads with at least one child formally diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, we assessed the association between parents’ EF (emotion regulation and self-inhibition) and their own and their partner’s depression and anxiety symptoms, caregiver strain, and well-being. Interdependence was established using correlations given the distinguishable nature of our dyads. Results Both mothers’ and fathers’ emotion regulation were associated with their own depression and anxiety symptoms, caregiver strain, and well-being. Increased EF deficits were associated with more symptoms and caregiver strain, and poorer well-being. There was only one significant association for self-inhibition: lower self-inhibition scores in fathers were linked to poorer well-being. We did not observe any associations between parents’ EF and their partner’s outcomes after false discovery rate correction. Conclusions Emotion regulation, and not self-inhibition, emerged as an important cognitive factor to consider when assessing the mental health and well-being of parents of autistic children. Previous work has looked at reducing caregiver strain in parents of autistic children through EF. Our findings can build off this work by isolating specific aspects of EF (i.e., emotion regulation) to streamline such supports and extend them to other domains, though we caution against overinterpretation given the cross-sectional nature of our analyses. Future work should investigate the causal relationship between EF and the mental health and well-being of parents of autistic children.