Opportunities for growth in relationships: parents perceptions of their experiences of autism and impacts on partner relationships

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

About the autistic author marker

Trew, S. (2025). Opportunities for growth in relationships: parents perceptions of their experiences of autism and impacts on partner relationships. Discover Psychology, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-025-00411-x

Publication date: 28 Aug 2025 Added to AutiHub: 16 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
1
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 1 (100.0%)

Abstract

Abstract This qualitative study explores the impacts of autism on partner relationships, highlighting both challenges and growth opportunities for 24 parents of autistic children. The study notes significant stress, conflict, and reduced intimacy amongst parent couples due to the demands of caregiving, leading to strained relationships in many cases. However, it also finds that some parent couples experience strengthened bonds through shared struggles, improved communication, and teamwork. The study shows that navigating the challenges of parenting an autistic child can either strain or strengthen partner relationships, often depending on the couple's ability to communicate and support each other. The findings suggest a need for tailored relationship counselling and stress management resources for couples and advocates for inclusive and understanding social support networks to alleviate the unique pressures faced by parents.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 20 Sep 2026 01:01.

Cited references
60
With a DOI
57
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
3
1 / 60 (1.7%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
2 / 60 (3.3%)
References with detected author names
58 / 60 (96.7%)
Without detected author names
2
Without a structured title
2
Without a stable identifier
3
References with raw author names still to review
2
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
176
From DOI or external metadata
176
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
2
19 / 176 (10.8%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 157 / 176 (89.2%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
1 / 176 (0.6%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 1 / 19 (5.3%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 1 / 160 (0.6%).
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