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Stress and well-being in autistic adults: Exploring the moderating role of coping

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posted on 2024-02-21, 23:56 authored by Melanie MuniandyMelanie Muniandy, Amanda RichdaleAmanda Richdale, Lauren LawsonLauren Lawson
The wider stress literature points to negative associations between stress and well-being. Similarly, the use of engagement coping strategies and disengagement coping strategies in the face of stress are related to improved and reduced well-being respectively. However, in the autistic population stress and coping research is limited to date, and the extent to which coping may moderate the relationship between stress and well-being is not known. Using data from an Australian online study, we explored the potential moderating (i.e. buffering or exacerbating) role of coping in the relationship between stress and well-being in a sample of autistic adults (N = 86). Our findings indicated that increased stress was associated with lower well-being. Further, moderation analyses showed that while both engagement coping (e.g. problem solving, positive appraisal) and disengagement coping (e.g., self-distraction, being in denial) strategies had significant positive and negative direct effects on well-being respectively; engagement coping also moderated the relationship between stress and well-being, buffering the impact of stress on well-being. Our results illustrate the different underlying mechanisms by which coping strategies may be associated with stress and well-being. They also highlight the potential protective role of engagement coping strategies, which can be incorporated into the promotion and maintenance of well-being in autistic adults.

Funding

All authors acknowledge the financial support of the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC), established and supported under the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centres Programme. MM was supported by an Autism CRC PhD scholarship while the position held by LPL was funded by the Autism CRC at the time this research was conducted.

History

Publication Date

2023-11-01

Journal

Autism Research

Volume

16

Issue

11

Pagination

14p. (p. 2220-2233)

Publisher

Wiley

ISSN

1939-3792

Rights Statement

© 2023 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

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