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The Etiology Of Parental Psychiatric Conditions Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

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The purpose of this paper is to synthesize and analyze journal articles related to the etiology of parental psychiatric conditions of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and the development of psychiatric conditions after diagnosis; and how the two are interrelated and cyclical.
Parents of children with ASD encounter a variety of unexpected- emotional, physiological, and financial challenges in their lifetime. Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders often have “elevated levels of depressive symptoms and psychological distress” (Meltzer, 2010, p. 362) and are at “a heightened risk for mental health problems” (Ingersoll & Hambrick, 2011 p. 337) not only compared to parents of neurotypical children; but also in contrast to parents with children with Down syndrome, an intellectual disability, fragile X syndrome, and development delay (Meltzer, 2010; Ingersoll & Hambrick, 2011).
Background Information
The rate of autism spectrum disorders has risen exponentially in the past forty years from 1 in 10,000 in the 1970s, to 1 in 1,000 in 1995, to a staggering 1 in 68 today; (CDC.gov) which means many families are impacted and coping with this devastating disorder. (CITE)
In 2013, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-V) combined four previously individual diagnoses that all had deficits in two primary areas: (1) “social communication and social interaction,” and (2) “restricted repetitive behaviors, interests, and

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