Social support mediates the relationship between dispositional gratitude and psychological distress in caregivers of autistic children.

This study looked at 126 parents and caregivers of autistic children to see how being grateful affects stress levels. They found that grateful caregivers had less stress, but mainly because grateful people tend to have better social support from family and friends. The social support was what actually helped reduce stress. This suggests that helping caregivers build gratitude might improve their support networks and reduce their stress levels.

This cross-sectional study examined 126 caregivers of autistic children to understand how gratitude affects psychological distress. Results showed that dispositional gratitude was associated with lower psychological distress, but this relationship was mediated through social support. Specifically, grateful caregivers reported higher levels of social support, which in turn predicted lower psychological distress. When social support was accounted for, the direct relationship between gratitude and distress was no longer significant, suggesting social support is the key mechanism.

The authors suggest that gratitude-enhancing interventions could be beneficial for autism caregivers by potentially increasing their social support networks.

Healthcare professionals should consider gratitude-enhancing interventions for autism caregivers, particularly those with limited social support. Since gratitude appears to work through social connections, interventions should focus on both building grateful attitudes and facilitating social support networks to reduce caregiver psychological distress.

Cross-sectional design prevents causal inferences. Sample size of 126 is moderate but may limit generalizability. Self-report measures may introduce bias. No control group or intervention testing. Limited demographic information provided about participants.

Grateful caregivers report lower levels of psychological distress. Social support, engendered by gratitude and buffering against stress, might mediate this effect. Here we explored whether the protective psychological effect of dispositional gratitude might be mediated by increased social support. A sample of 126 caregivers of autistic children completed questionnaires assessing dispositional gratitude, social support and psychological distress.

Gratitude inversely predicted psychological distress, as did social support after adjusting for gratitude. Gratitude positively predicted social support. Gratitude no longer predicted psychological distress after adjusting for social support. Indirect effects analysis revealed the gratitude-distress relationship occurred indirectly via social support.

Grateful caregivers reported higher levels of social support, and this predicted lower psychological distress. Gratitude, relatively stable as a disposition, has a state component that is sensitive to change, and healthcare professionals might do well to recommend gratitude enhancing interventions for caregivers of autistic children.