Volume 6, Issue 4 (Vol 6, No 4 (22) 2026)
2026, 6(4): 528-539 |
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Ethics code: IR.QUMS.REC.1402.030
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khodaverdian M, Keshavarz S, Shiri E, Hoseini Aghuzbani S M, Asli Tabrizi S. (2026). Comparative Study of Marital Satisfaction and Communication Skills in Parents of Children with Autism and Those With Typically Developing Children. Journal of Childhood Health and Education. 6(4), 528-539. doi:10.32598/JECHE.6.4.245.5
URL: http://jeche.ir/article-1-337-en.html
URL: http://jeche.ir/article-1-337-en.html
Mehrnaz Khodaverdian1 
, Somayeh Keshavarz2 , Esmaeil Shiri *2 , Seyede Masoomeh Hoseini Aghuzbani3 , Saeide Asli Tabrizi1
, Somayeh Keshavarz2 , Esmaeil Shiri *2 , Seyede Masoomeh Hoseini Aghuzbani3 , Saeide Asli Tabrizi1
1- Department of General Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran.
2- Department of Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran.
3- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Guilan University, Rasht, Iran.
2- Department of Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran.
3- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Guilan University, Rasht, Iran.
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Introduction
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most complex neurodevelopmental disabilities, characterized by deficits in social interaction, communication, and repetitive behavioral patterns, which place profound psychological burdens on parents (APA, 2013; Tustin et al., 2021). Research has shown that parents of children with autism experience higher levels of parenting stress, emotional distress, and burnout compared to parents of typically developing children (Hartley et al., 2019; Gagat, 2022). These chronic stresses can lead to weakened couple interactions, reduced emotional support between couples, and ultimately decreased marital satisfaction, especially when the child’s needs receive a large portion of the family’s time and emotional resources (Bodenmann, 2007; Milan, 2022).
On the other hand, communication skills—including active listening, emotion regulation, message sending and receiving, and assertiveness—are important predictors of healthy couple functioning and marital adjustment (Baio, 2014). Recent research suggests that parents of children with ASD typically exhibit poorer functioning in couple interactions and communication quality due to the pressures of caregiving and the child’s behavioral challenges (Yu et al., 2023). Despite the extreme importance of this issue, comparative studies in Iran on the simultaneous examination of “marital satisfaction” and “communication skills” of parents of autistic children are limited. Accordingly, the present study aimed to compare these two variables between parents of children with ASD and parents of normal children to help in a more accurate understanding of the family consequences of this disorder and the necessity of designing targeted interventions.
Research Methods
This research was a causal-comparative (post-event) study, and the target population included parents of 8- to 9-year-old children with ASD at the Sina Autism Center and parents of normal children in Qazvin elementary schools. Using the convenience sampling method, and based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 44 parents of autistic children were selected and matched with 44 parents of normal children. Matching was performed based on parental age, child’s age, level of education, and employment status, and initial analyses showed that the two groups did not differ significantly in terms of demographic variables.
The research tools included the Hudson Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ, 1992) as one of the valid scales for measuring couple relationships (Bodenmann, 2007), and the Queendom Communication Skills Test (QCST, 2004), whose validity and reliability have been confirmed in numerous Iraninan studies (Pourmand et al., 2018).
Data were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, Levene’s test, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). This method has been widely used in comparative studies of families of children with special needs (Hartley et al., 2019).
Results
The average age of parents and children in the two groups was not significantly different, and the two groups were similar in terms of education and employment status, which allowed for a valid comparison of the main variables of the study (Karimi-Afshar et al., 1401). The Shapiro-Wilk test confirmed the normality of the data distribution, and the Levene’s test showed that the variance of the two groups was homogeneous.
The ANCOVA results showed that parents of children with autism had significantly lower marital satisfaction than parents of normal children (P<0.001), which is consistent with the findings of previous studies (Mahmoudzadeh Morghi et al., 2019; Hartley et al., 2019). Also, a significant difference was observed in communication skills; parents of children with ASD obtained lower scores (P<0.001). Five subscales of communication skills—“sending and receiving messages,” “emotional control,” “listening skills,” “communication insight,” and “assertiveness”—were all significantly higher in parents of typical children than in the group of parents of autistic children. This pattern suggests that caregiving pressures can reduce capacities for emotion regulation, communicative accuracy, and constructive interaction (Gagat, 2022; Yu et al., 2023).
Conclusion
The findings showed that parents of children with autism have lower levels of marital satisfaction and communication skills compared to parents of typical children. This finding is consistent with the vulnerability-stress-adaptation model, which states that chronic caregiving pressures deplete couples’ cognitive and emotional resources and reduce the quality of couple interactions (Bodenmann, 2007; Hartley et al., 2019). The results are also consistent with previous studies, showing that that parents of children with ASD exhibit greater weakness in emotion regulation and effective communication due to persistent anxiety, child behavioral problems, and emotional exhaustion (Mahmoudzadeh Morghi et al., 2019; Yu et al., 2023).
From a practical perspective, these findings indicate that designing interventions based on communication skills, stress management, and improving couple interactions is essential for parents of children with autism; interventions whose effectiveness has been previously reported (Pourmand et al., 2018; Irshad et al., 2023). The limitations of the study include convenience sampling, being limited to a geographical area, and the specific circumstances of school closures at the time of data collection. Therefore, it is suggested that future studies use a larger sample, longitudinal designs, and couple therapy-based interventions. Overall, our results indicate that strengthening effective communication and couple support can play an important role in reducing caregiving pressures and improving the health of families with a child with ASD.
Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
Before the research, the researchers provided the subjects with sufficient information about the research process so that they could participate in the research with full knowledge. The researchers also pledged that all information acquired from the subjects would be confidential and that their identities would not be revealed in the analysis, recording, and reporting of the results. The present study was also approved by the Ethics Committee of Biological Research of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences with the ethics code IR.QUMS.REC.1402.030.
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Authors contributions
All authors played a significant role in designing the title of the study, collecting data, and analyzing the results.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgments
We hereby express our gratitude and appreciation to all who helped us in conducting this research.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most complex neurodevelopmental disabilities, characterized by deficits in social interaction, communication, and repetitive behavioral patterns, which place profound psychological burdens on parents (APA, 2013; Tustin et al., 2021). Research has shown that parents of children with autism experience higher levels of parenting stress, emotional distress, and burnout compared to parents of typically developing children (Hartley et al., 2019; Gagat, 2022). These chronic stresses can lead to weakened couple interactions, reduced emotional support between couples, and ultimately decreased marital satisfaction, especially when the child’s needs receive a large portion of the family’s time and emotional resources (Bodenmann, 2007; Milan, 2022).
On the other hand, communication skills—including active listening, emotion regulation, message sending and receiving, and assertiveness—are important predictors of healthy couple functioning and marital adjustment (Baio, 2014). Recent research suggests that parents of children with ASD typically exhibit poorer functioning in couple interactions and communication quality due to the pressures of caregiving and the child’s behavioral challenges (Yu et al., 2023). Despite the extreme importance of this issue, comparative studies in Iran on the simultaneous examination of “marital satisfaction” and “communication skills” of parents of autistic children are limited. Accordingly, the present study aimed to compare these two variables between parents of children with ASD and parents of normal children to help in a more accurate understanding of the family consequences of this disorder and the necessity of designing targeted interventions.
Research Methods
This research was a causal-comparative (post-event) study, and the target population included parents of 8- to 9-year-old children with ASD at the Sina Autism Center and parents of normal children in Qazvin elementary schools. Using the convenience sampling method, and based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 44 parents of autistic children were selected and matched with 44 parents of normal children. Matching was performed based on parental age, child’s age, level of education, and employment status, and initial analyses showed that the two groups did not differ significantly in terms of demographic variables.
The research tools included the Hudson Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ, 1992) as one of the valid scales for measuring couple relationships (Bodenmann, 2007), and the Queendom Communication Skills Test (QCST, 2004), whose validity and reliability have been confirmed in numerous Iraninan studies (Pourmand et al., 2018).
Data were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, Levene’s test, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). This method has been widely used in comparative studies of families of children with special needs (Hartley et al., 2019).
Results
The average age of parents and children in the two groups was not significantly different, and the two groups were similar in terms of education and employment status, which allowed for a valid comparison of the main variables of the study (Karimi-Afshar et al., 1401). The Shapiro-Wilk test confirmed the normality of the data distribution, and the Levene’s test showed that the variance of the two groups was homogeneous.
The ANCOVA results showed that parents of children with autism had significantly lower marital satisfaction than parents of normal children (P<0.001), which is consistent with the findings of previous studies (Mahmoudzadeh Morghi et al., 2019; Hartley et al., 2019). Also, a significant difference was observed in communication skills; parents of children with ASD obtained lower scores (P<0.001). Five subscales of communication skills—“sending and receiving messages,” “emotional control,” “listening skills,” “communication insight,” and “assertiveness”—were all significantly higher in parents of typical children than in the group of parents of autistic children. This pattern suggests that caregiving pressures can reduce capacities for emotion regulation, communicative accuracy, and constructive interaction (Gagat, 2022; Yu et al., 2023).
Conclusion
The findings showed that parents of children with autism have lower levels of marital satisfaction and communication skills compared to parents of typical children. This finding is consistent with the vulnerability-stress-adaptation model, which states that chronic caregiving pressures deplete couples’ cognitive and emotional resources and reduce the quality of couple interactions (Bodenmann, 2007; Hartley et al., 2019). The results are also consistent with previous studies, showing that that parents of children with ASD exhibit greater weakness in emotion regulation and effective communication due to persistent anxiety, child behavioral problems, and emotional exhaustion (Mahmoudzadeh Morghi et al., 2019; Yu et al., 2023).
From a practical perspective, these findings indicate that designing interventions based on communication skills, stress management, and improving couple interactions is essential for parents of children with autism; interventions whose effectiveness has been previously reported (Pourmand et al., 2018; Irshad et al., 2023). The limitations of the study include convenience sampling, being limited to a geographical area, and the specific circumstances of school closures at the time of data collection. Therefore, it is suggested that future studies use a larger sample, longitudinal designs, and couple therapy-based interventions. Overall, our results indicate that strengthening effective communication and couple support can play an important role in reducing caregiving pressures and improving the health of families with a child with ASD.
Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
Before the research, the researchers provided the subjects with sufficient information about the research process so that they could participate in the research with full knowledge. The researchers also pledged that all information acquired from the subjects would be confidential and that their identities would not be revealed in the analysis, recording, and reporting of the results. The present study was also approved by the Ethics Committee of Biological Research of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences with the ethics code IR.QUMS.REC.1402.030.
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Authors contributions
All authors played a significant role in designing the title of the study, collecting data, and analyzing the results.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgments
We hereby express our gratitude and appreciation to all who helped us in conducting this research.
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Type of Study: Research |
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Received: 2025/04/29 | Accepted: 2026/01/3 | Published: 2026/01/3
Received: 2025/04/29 | Accepted: 2026/01/3 | Published: 2026/01/3
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