Understanding Stability and Change in Perceived Social Support in Parents of Autistic Children and Adolescents.

The sample was recruited through community organizations and a research database, meaning parents were likely already engaged with autism services or research, which may not generalize to all parents of children with autism. The sample was primarily well-educated mothers living in suburban or urban areas in Canada, limiting diversity. Data relied entirely on self-report surveys, which can inflate associations due to shared method variance. Autism diagnoses were confirmed via parent report and screening questionnaires rather than in-person diagnostic testing. The 1-year follow-up period may be too short to capture meaningful changes in stress, support, or behavior, which the authors note are often chronic. Survey measures used different reference timeframes (e.g., stress over the last week vs. support over the last 4 weeks), which may have influenced the strength of associations.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Do not interpret the finding that support predicts lower stress and behavior as evidence that increasing support will cause these improvements in clinical practice. The study is observational, showing associations over time, not a test of an intervention. Additionally, the effects were small and limited to the first 6 months, with no significant effects found between 6 and 12 months.