{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T05:04:34Z","timestamp":1789535074267,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789516800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face immense pressure and challenges. In traditional Chinese culture, a distinct division of labor exists, with mothers typically bearing greater parenting burdens. This study examined the relationship between parental psychological flexibility (PPF) and parental involvement in families of children with ASD, investigated the mediating role of anxiety, and explored the interaction effects between parents.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The study included 83 pairs of parents of children with ASD. Parental psychological flexibility, anxiety, and parenting involvement were assessed using the Parental Psychological Flexibility Scale, Anxiety Scale, and Parenting Involvement Scale, respectively. An actor-partner interdependence model was constructed.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Both paternal and maternal PPF exhibited significant actor effects on parental involvement, while maternal PPF showed a partner effect on paternal involvement. When anxiety was included as a mediator, maternal PPF was negatively associated with both maternal and paternal anxiety. There was also a significant indirect association between maternal PPF and paternal involvement through maternal anxiety.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings suggest that PPF is a core factor contributing to parenting. In the Chinese cultural context, enhancing mothers' psychological flexibility may be key to improving family parenting capacity.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1912741","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T04:32:35Z","timestamp":1789533155000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The asymmetric relationship of parental psychological flexibility and parenting involvement in autism: anxiety as a mediator"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Jingyi","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Urban Governance and Public Affairs, Suzhou City University","place":["Suzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhiqin","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, Suzhou BenQ Medical Center, Suzhou","place":["Jiangsu Province, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiayi","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Education, Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dianzhi","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Urban Governance and Public Affairs, Suzhou City University","place":["Suzhou, China"]},{"name":"School of Education, Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiajing","family":"Wei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Education, Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"915","DOI":"10.1007\/s10803-022-05870-y","article-title":"Factors predicting poor mental and physical health in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder: Results from 2016 to 2019 National Survey of Children's Health","volume":"54","author":"Lee","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Autism Dev Disord"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1499","DOI":"10.1007\/s11136-021-03045-3","article-title":"Perceptions of parents of the impact of autism spectrum disorder on their quality of life and correlates: comparison between mothers and fathers","volume":"31","author":"Vernhet","year":"2022","journal-title":"Qual Life Res"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1849","DOI":"10.1177\/13623613251328465","article-title":"Mindfulness and parenting stress among parents of autistic children: The mediation of resilience and psychological flexibility","volume":"29","author":"Feng","year":"2025","journal-title":"Autism"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2025","DOI":"10.1007\/s10826-018-1029-0","article-title":"Parental attachment dimensions and parenting stress: The mediating role of parental reflective functioning","volume":"27","author":"Nijssens","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Child Fam Stud"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2740","DOI":"10.1007\/s10803-018-3525-x","article-title":"ACT Processes in Group Intervention for Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder","volume":"48","author":"Fung","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Autism Dev Disord"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"103791","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ridd.2020.103791","article-title":"Parental stress, involvement, and family quality of life in mothers and fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder in mainland China: A dyadic analysis","volume":"107","author":"Wang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Res Dev Disabil"},{"key":"B7","first-page":"1432","article-title":"The Associations of Parenting Stress, Mindful Parenting and Parent-Child Relationship: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model","volume":"46","author":"Li","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Psychol Sci"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"343","DOI":"10.1177\/1362361315584464","article-title":"How are they doing? 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