QUALITY OF MARRIED LIFE IN FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN WITH AUTISM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/humanitas/2022.3.11Keywords:
quality of life, married life, partnership, child with autismAbstract
Raising a child with autism affects the overall quality of life of the family, including the quality of marital relationships between partners. The purpose of this study is to identify social problems that worsen the quality of married life of partners raising children with autism, based on a systematic analysis of the scientific literature and through empirical research (the general sample – 90 people raising children with autism). The study was built on an empirical-reductionist basis and was conducted on the basis of the Training and Rehabilitation Center "Trust" (Lviv) by means of a survey within the study of the general assessment of the quality of life of families raising children with autism. The analysis of the scientific literature made it possible to identify the main difficulties experienced by partners in married life due to the influence of the child’s autism: emotional burnout, stress, imbalance of responsibilities, destructive communication, conflicts. Similar results are shown by the analysis of data obtained through surveys, which indicate a lack of time in marriage, decreased trust and warmth, departure from romanticism, decreased libido, increased controversy, locus of communication focused on the child, fear of re-pregnancy, reduced ability of spouses to successfully perform family functions. These difficulties are systematized by the following cluster: excessive focus on the needs of the child: emotional impoverishment between partners, deteriorating quality of intimate life, conflicts and disputes, daily routines, stress, fatigue and emotional burnout. The current situation requires the attention of social work and the involvement of social workers in the development of interventions that can improve the interpersonal relationships of spouses raising a child with autism, including the normalization of socio-psychological microclimate, family reorganization, family restructuring.
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