Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Times of COVID-19: Examining Emotional and Behavioral Problems, Parental Well-Being, and Resilience

Donna A de Maat; Ruth Van der Hallen; Pieter F A de Nijs; Kirsten Visser; Dennis Bastiaansen; Femke L Truijens; Elisabeth H M van Rijen; Wietske Ester; Peter Prinzie; Pauline W Jansen; Linda P Dekker

doi:10.1007/s10803-022-05846-y

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Times of COVID-19: Examining Emotional and Behavioral Problems, Parental Well-Being, and Resilience

J Autism Dev Disord. 2023 May 22:1-12. doi: 10.1007/s10803-022-05846-y. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Donna A de Maat^{1

2}, Ruth Van der Hallen^{3

4}, Pieter F A de Nijs^{4

5}, Kirsten Visser^{4

6}, Dennis Bastiaansen^{4

7}, Femke L Truijens^{3

4}, Elisabeth H M van Rijen^{3

4}, Wietske Ester^{4

6

8

9}, Peter Prinzie³, Pauline W Jansen^{3

10

5}, Linda P Dekker^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, Rotterdam, 3000 DR, The Netherlands. demaat@essb.eur.nl.
² The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. demaat@essb.eur.nl.
³ Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, Rotterdam, 3000 DR, The Netherlands.
⁴ Rotterdam Autism Consortium (R.A.C.), Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
⁵ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
⁶ Sarr Autism Rotterdam, Youz Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Parnassia Group, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
⁷ Yulius Center for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
⁸ Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Curium-LUMC, Oegstgeest, The Netherlands.
⁹ Parnassia Bavo Group, Parnassia Bavo Academy, The Hague, The Netherlands.
¹⁰ The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Abstract

This longitudinal study assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 62; M_age = 13 years) by measuring emotional and behavioral problems before and during the pandemic, and by comparing this change to a matched sample of children without ASD (n = 213; M_age = 16 years). Moreover, we examined whether indicators of parental well-being promoted resilience of children with ASD. Results showed that the mean change in problems did not differ between children with and without ASD. Importantly, some children showed an increase in problems, while others showed resilience. Parental well-being indicators were not related to resilience among children with ASD. The interindividual variability in responses, particularly among children with ASD, highlights the need for personalized support.

Keywords: COVID-19; autism spectrum disorder (ASD); emotional and behavioral problems; parental well-being; resilience.

Grants and funding

ZonMw/ZONMW_/ZonMw/Netherlands