Erin T. Barker

The Relative Risk and Timing of Divorce in Families of Children With an Autism Spectrum Disorder

We compared the occurrence and timing of divorce in 391 parents of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and a matched representative sample of parents of children without disabilities using a survival analysis. Parents of children with an ASD had a higher rate of divorce than the comparison group (23.5% vs. 13.8%). The rate of divorce remained high throughout the sons or daughters childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood for parents of children with an ASD, whereas it decreased following the sons or daughters childhood (after about age 8 years) in the comparison group. Younger maternal age when the child with ASD was born and having the child born later in the birth order were positively predictive of divorce for parents of children with an ASD. Findings have implications for interventions focused on ameliorating ongoing and long-term marital strains for parents of children with an ASD.

Trajectories of Emotional Well-Being in Mothers of Adolescents and Adults with Autism.

Raising an adolescent or adult child with a developmental disability confers exceptional caregiving challenges on parents. We examined trajectories of 2 indicators of emotional well-being (depressive symptoms and anxiety) in a sample of primarily Caucasian mothers (N = 379; M age = 51.22 years at Time 1) of adolescent and adult children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD; M age = 21.91 years at Time 1, 73.2% male). We also investigated within-person associations of child context time-varying covariates (autism symptoms, behavior problems, residential status) and maternal context time-varying covariates (social support network size and stressful family events) with the trajectories of emotional well-being. Data were collected on 5 occasions across a 10-year period. Average patterns of stable (depressive symptoms) and improved (anxiety) emotional well-being were evident, and well-being trajectories were sensitive to fluctuations in both child and maternal context variables. On occasions when behavior problems were higher, depressive symptoms and anxiety were higher. On occasions after which the grown child moved out of the family home, anxiety was lower. Anxiety was higher on occasions when social support networks were smaller and when more stressful life events were experienced. These results have implications for midlife and aging families of children with an ASD and those who provide services to these families.

Differential Sensitivity to Life Stress in FMR1 Premutation Carrier Mothers of Children With Fragile X Syndrome

OBJECTIVE The premutation of the FMR1 gene (defined as between 55 and 200 CGG repeats) is estimated to affect 1 in 149 females and 1 in 643 males, and some people who carry the FMR1 premutation display signs of impairment. METHOD This study focuses on 82 premutation carrier mothers (M age = 51.4 years; SD = 7.7) of adolescent and adult children with fragile X syndrome (FXS). A Gene × Environment interaction approach examined the ways in which the experience of negative life events interacts with genetic vulnerability to predict depressive symptoms, anxiety, and daily cortisol levels. RESULTS The associations of life events with all 3 dependent measures were associated with CGG repeat length but in a curvilinear manner. Mothers with midsize CGG repeats who experienced above-average numbers of negative life events in the previous year had more depressive symptoms and anxiety and had a blunted cortisol awakening response, as compared with those with higher or lower repeat lengths. However, mothers with midsize CGG repeats who experienced below-average numbers of negative life events in the previous year had the lowest levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety, and they exhibited the typical cortisol response to awakening, meeting the criteria for differential susceptibility. CONCLUSIONS This research extends our understanding of the phenotypic effects of the expansion of the FMR1 gene, and it adds to the growing literature on the curvilinear relationship between CGG repeat length and mental and physical health.

Behavioral Phenotype of Fragile X Syndrome in adolescence and adulthood

The present study explored the behavioral profile of individuals with fragile X syndrome during adolescence and adulthood. Individuals with both fragile X syndrome and autism (n  =  30) were compared with (a) individuals diagnosed with fragile X syndrome (but not autism; n  =  106) and (b) individuals diagnosed with autism (but not fragile X syndrome; n  =  135) on measures of autism symptoms, adaptive functioning, behavior problems, and psychological symptoms. Results indicated that individuals dually diagnosed with fragile X syndrome and autism displayed greater communication and social reciprocity impairments than individuals with fragile X syndrome only. Individuals in the dually diagnosed group also exhibited higher levels of repetitive and challenging behaviors than either comparison group, suggesting a unique profile of vulnerability for those diagnosed with both fragile X syndrome and autism.

Who gets caught at maturity gap? A study of pseudomature, immature, and mature adolescents

This research examined links among adolescents’ maturity status, their biological, social, and psychological characteristics, and parents’ perceptions of their adolescents’ maturity. The participants were 430 Canadian adolescents in the sixth and ninth grades, and a subsample of their parents. Pattern-centred analyses confirmed the existence of three clusters of adolescents differing in maturity status: pseudomature (25%), immature (30%), and mature (44%). Further analyses found differences among the clusters in adolescents’ pubertal status, the social context (presence of older siblings and friends), and their desired age, involvement in pop culture, school and peer involvement, and close friendships. Analysis of mother and father reports revealed some differences in how parents of pseudomature, immature, and mature adolescents perceived their adolescents’ maturity, and in how they felt about their adolescents’ maturity. There were few grade differences in the findings. The results suggest that pseudomature adolescents, and to a smaller extent, immature adolescents, are caught in a maturity gap, which could have longer-term implications for their transition to adulthood.

Daily Stress and Cortisol Patterns in Parents of Adult Children with a Serious Mental Illness

OBJECTIVE The goal of the current study was to examine whether parenting an adult child with a serious mental illness (SMI) has a physiological impact on parents. METHOD Multiple samples of saliva were collected on 4 days from 61 parents (mean age = 60.07 years, SD = 10.01) of individuals with a SMI (bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression; mean age = 32.46 years, SD = 10.57) and a comparison group of 321 parents (mean age = 58.09 years, SD = 12.88) of individuals without a SMI (mean age = 32.36; SD = 13.87). Saliva samples were assayed for the hormone cortisol and group differences in diurnal cortisol patterns and their association with daily stress severity were explored. RESULTS On days after elevated stress, a hypoactivation pattern of diurnal cortisol suggestive of chronic stress was evident for parents of individuals with a SMI. After more stressful days, cortisol levels increased less from waking to 30 min after waking and declined less from 30 min after waking to bedtime for parents of individuals with a SMI. CONCLUSIONS The results of the current study add to a growing body of evidence that the long-term effects of parenting an adult with a disability has a biological impact on aging parents and support the need for family interventions across adulthood and into old age for parents of individuals with SMI.

Daily Spillover to and from Binge Eating in First-Year University Females

Coping models of binge eating propose that stress and/or negative affect trigger binge eating, which serves to shift attention to the binge and its consequences. The current study tested these general assumptions using 14-day daily diary data collected from 66 first-year university females. Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling results showed that increased stress, negative affect, and weight concerns were associated with an increased likelihood of reporting symptoms of binge eating within days. Elevated weight concerns predicted next-day binge eating and binge eating predicted greater next-day negative affect. Discussion focuses on implications for coping models of binge eating. This research was supported by a Humanities, Fine Arts and Social Sciences grant from the University of Alberta to N. Galambos.

Adolescents' Implicit Theories of Maturity: Ages of Adulthood, Freedom, and Fun.

Conceptions of maturity were explored among 170 adolescents in Grades 7 and 10. Adolescents were asked at what ages (and why) they expected to reach adulthood, experience the most freedom, and have the most fun. Adolescents expected to have fun at an earlier age than they expected freedom or adulthood. The majority of adolescents cited the acquisition of independence as critical to their expectations for the ages of adulthood (71%) and freedom (74%). Some chronological transitions, such as reaching driving age (41%) as well as acquiring independence (41%), were associated with the expected age for fun. Adolescents who felt older than their age and engaged in more problem behaviors but were low on psychosocial maturity, were more likely than other adolescents to cite chronological transitions as indicative of freedom. The importance of these conceptions for guiding adolescents through the transition to adulthood is discussed.

Marital Quality and Families of Children with Developmental Disabilities.

In the current review, we highlight recent research on marital quality in parents of children with developmental disabilities (DD) and discuss the child and family factors that account for why some marriages fare better than others. We will also discuss the need for the field of DD to broaden its perspective on marital quality and to examine the impact of marriages on child well-being and the well-being of parents. The clinical implications of recent research findings on marital quality for improving supports and interventions for families of children with DD are discussed. A theoretical framework and model of marriage and parent and child psychosocial well-being in the context of child disability is proposed and a roadmap for future research is provided.

A Person-Centered Analysis of Risk Factors that Compromise Wellbeing in Emerging Adulthood

The transition to adulthood is a major life course transition that can pose risk to wellbeing. Research is needed to identify patterns of risk for compromised wellbeing, in order to best identify supports for individuals during this potentially vulnerable transition. The purpose of this study was to identify profiles of risk in an emerging adulthood sample, and to relate these profiles to mental health and subjective and academic wellbeing. Undergraduate emerging adults (N = 903, 82 % female), aged 18–25 years (M = 21.14, SD = 1.75), completed a series of questionnaires about risk factors, mental health, and academic variables. Results from a latent profile analysis identified four distinct risk profiles: Low Risk (76 %), Low Social Support Risk (4 %), Financial Risk (11 %), and Multiple Risk (8 %). The risk profiles were subsequently related to mental health and subjective and academic wellbeing outcomes, using a pseudo-class draws approach. Analyses indicated that the risk-pattern profiles differed in several ways across outcomes. Implications for targeted interventions are discussed.