Intervention adherence and its predictors among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder.

This study looked at how well parents follow through with autism interventions for their children. Researchers found that parents had moderate levels of following treatments. Five key factors predicted better adherence: father's education level, how much time mothers spend with their child daily, the child's sensory issues, and how confident and satisfied parents feel in their parenting role. The results suggest that supporting parents' confidence and tailoring help to each family's needs could improve how well families stick to autism interventions.

This cross-sectional study examined intervention adherence among 209 parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in Guangzhou, China. Using standardized scales, researchers found moderate levels of intervention adherence (TCS score: 60.18±12.81). Professional treatment adherence was highest (3.73±1.02), followed by regular follow-up (3.65±0.93), with family intervention showing lowest adherence (2.98±0.80). Multiple regression analysis identified five significant predictors accounting for 24.7% of variance: fathers' education level, mothers' daily time with children, children's sensory processing issues, and parental self-efficacy and satisfaction.

The findings suggest that targeted interventions enhancing parental confidence and providing family-tailored support could improve adherence to autism interventions.

Clinicians should assess and address parental confidence, provide education tailored to family characteristics, and offer additional support for family-based interventions where adherence is lowest. Addressing children's sensory processing needs may also improve overall intervention adherence.

Cross-sectional design prevents causal inferences. Single site recruitment from one Chinese hospital limits generalizability. Predictive model explains only 24.7% of variance, indicating other unmeasured factors influence adherence. Self-report measures may introduce bias.

To investigate the intervention adherence among parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and explore its predictors. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 209 parents of children with ASD were recruited from a tertiary hospital in Guangzhou, China, from September 2022 to August 2023. Treatment Compliance Scale (TCS), Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC), and Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) were used for data collection. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to explore the predictors of intervention adherence.

The TCS score was 60.18 ± 12.81, and the item mean scores of professional treatment, family intervention and regular follow-up were 3.73 ± 1.02, 2.98 ± 0.80 and 3.65 ± 0.93, respectively. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that fathers' educational level (β = 0.272, P < 0.01), mothers' daily time with children (β = 0.257, P < 0.05), sensory domain in ABC (β = 0.146, P < 0.05), parenting self-efficacy (β = 0.229, P = 0.001) and parenting satisfaction (β = 0.152, P < 0.05) statistically significantly predicted TCS, accounting for 24.7 % of the variance [F (P) = 6.256, P < 0.001]. Intervention adherence among parents of children with ASD was at a moderate level. Parenting confidence (self-efficacy and satisfaction), fathers' education level, mothers' daily time with children, and children's sensory processing abnormalities significantly predicted adherence.

These findings suggest that targeted interventions focusing on enhancing parental confidence and providing tailored support based on family characteristics may improve parents' intervention adherence.