Shepherd, DBuchwald, KSiegert, RJVignes, M2024-08-062024-08-062024-07-26Research in Developmental Disabilities, ISSN: 0891-4222 (Print); 1873-3379 (Online), Elsevier BV, 152, 104808-. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2024.1048080891-42221873-3379http://hdl.handle.net/10292/17854Background: Raising an autistic child is associated with increased parenting stress relative to raising typically developing children. Increased parenting stress is associated with lower parent wellbeing, which in turn can negatively impact child wellbeing. Aims: The current study sought to quantify parenting stress and parent health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in the autism context, and further understand the relationship between them by employing a relatively novel statistical method, Network Analysis. Methods and Procedures: This cross-sectional study involved 476 parents of an autistic child. Parents completed an online survey requesting information on parent and child characteristics, parent's perceptions of their autistic child's symptoms and problem behaviours, and assessed their parenting stress and HRQOL. Outcomes and Results: Relative to normative data, parent HRQOL was significantly lower in terms of physical health and mental wellbeing. The structure extracted by the Network Analysis indicated that child age and externalising behaviours were the main contributors to parenting stress, and that externalising behaviours, ASD core behavioural symptoms, and parenting stress predicted HRQOL. Conclusions and Implications: Parental responses to child-related factors likely determine parent HRQOL. Findings are discussed in relation to the transactional model, emphasising the importance of both parent and child wellbeing.© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Autism spectrum disorderHealth-related quality of lifeNetwork analysisParenting4203 Health Services and Systems42 Health Sciences52 PsychologyBasic Behavioral and Social ScienceAutismIntellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD)Brain DisordersPediatricBehavioral and Social ScienceClinical ResearchMental HealthGeneric health relevanceMental health3 Good Health and Well Being1117 Public Health and Health Services1303 Specialist Studies in Education1701 PsychologyRehabilitation3904 Specialist studies in education4203 Health services and systems5201 Applied and developmental psychologyJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.1016/j.ridd.2024.104808