Psychological distress and well-being of Latina and non-Latina white mothers of youth and adults with an autism spectrum disorder: Cultural attitudes towards coresidence status.

Abstract

This article examined the emotional well-being of 108 Latina and non-Latina White mothers who were coresiding with a youth or adult with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It was hypothesized that Latina mothers would be more satisfied with coresidence than non-Latina White mothers, and that satisfaction with coresidence would mediate the relationship between ethnicity and outcomes. When controlling for demographic characteristics, non-Latina White mothers were more distressed and had lower levels of psychological well-being than Latina mothers. As hypothesized, satisfaction with coresidence mediated this difference. Qualitative analysis revealed that both groups of mothers valued family cohesion as a positive aspect of coresidence. However, Latina mothers were less likely to report negative aspects of coresidence than non-Latina White mothers.