Bouncing Back: Resilience as a Protective Factor for the Impact of Child Problem Behavior on Caregiver Depressive Cognitions Among Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often report higher rates of depression and the related negative thought patterns that may precede a clinical diagnosis. These negative thought patterns are referred to as depressive cognitions. Depressive cognitions are exacerbated by child problem behaviors (CPB) but may be impacted by parental resilience. The current study examines relations between CPB and depressive cognitions and the role of resilience as a moderator among caregivers of children with ASD (n = 287) and a sample of caregivers of children who are typically developing (n = 207). Significant positive associations were found between CPB and depressive cognitions for caregivers of children with ASD and who are typically developing. A moderation analysis revealed that, among the ASD sample, the model accounted for 33% of the variance in caregiver depressive cognitions (R2 = 0.33, SE = 35.52, p < 0.001). The interaction of child problem behaviors and caregiver resilience on caregiver depressive cognitions was statistically significant ( B = − 0.016, SE = 0.007, p = 0.037), thus resilience was a significant moderator, for caregivers of children with ASD. Resilience serves as a protective factor in the relationship between child problem behavior and caregiver depressive cognitions for caregivers of children with ASD only. This finding highlights the importance of assessing and supporting resilience among caregivers of children with ASD. Interventions addressing child behavior would benefit from additional components to bolster caregiver resilience to enhance caregiver mental health and protect against depressive cognitions.