Are Maternal Self-Reports of Social Difficulties Apparent in Interactions with their Children?

This study looked at mothers who have children with autism symptoms and whether their own social challenges affect how they interact with their kids. Mothers with more than one child showing autism traits reported having more social difficulties themselves. However, when researchers watched these mothers playing with their children, they found that all mothers interacted similarly well, regardless of their self-reported social challenges. This suggests that mothers may be harder on themselves than they need to be.

This 2024 study examined whether mothers who self-report social difficulties show different interaction patterns with their children during play. Researchers compared 71 mothers across three groups: those with multiple children showing autism symptoms, those with one autistic child, and those with only typically developing children. Mothers with multiple affected children reported significantly higher social difficulties on standardized measures. However, observational analysis of mother-child play interactions revealed that despite these self-reported challenges, mothers with higher family affectedness demonstrated comparable quality social exchanges, including gaze, positive affect, and vocalizations, suggesting self-perception may not align with actual interactive behaviors.

Findings suggest parent-mediated interventions should consider that maternal self-reported social difficulties may not reflect actual interaction quality. This has implications for intervention design and may help reduce parental self-doubt. Clinicians should assess both subjective reports and objective interaction patterns when supporting families.

Study limitations are not detailed in the abstract. Sample size appears modest (71 mothers) and study design is unclear. The abstract does not specify how autism symptoms were defined or measured in children, nor does it provide details about the coding reliability for interaction measures.

To inform parent-mediated intervention models, this study assessed if family affectedness (i.e., elevated autism symptoms in more than one child) was associated with maternal self-reported social difficulties (as indexed by the Social Responsiveness Scale; SRS-2), and social interactions during play. As part of a prospective study, 71 mothers completed the SRS-2 and a play session. Interactions were coded for a range of prosocial behaviors, including gaze, positive affect, and vocalizations. Overall, mothers with multiple children exhibiting autism symptoms self-reported significantly more social difficulties on the SRS-2, when compared to mothers raising only typically developing children, or one child with autism.

However, even with elevated SRS-2 scores, mothers with higher family affectedness demonstrated comparable social exchanges with their children during play.