Abstract

Family systems are currently categorized by referring to common factors of psychological functioning such as happiness, well-being, the ability to adapt quickly, self-esteem, the sense of effectiveness, and the ability to see the meaning of life. These positive indicators complement personal resiliency, which is highly correlated with various positive psychological mechanisms, in particular with the ability to adapt to difficult and unexpected events (i.e. being able to deal with a serious illness or the disability of a child, regardless of cultural factors).

For those who research the context of an autistic child's functioning and development, it is important to characterize these adaptations, which are perceived as a result of rapid changes in civilization, along with cultural and moral aspects, that take place all over the world.

This focus became the inspiration to carry out research regarding the functioning profile of a modern ASD child's family in California, USA, along with various sociocultural conditions. The research covered 105 randomly selected families connected with the Autism Tree Project Foundation in San Diego and the Silicon Valley area of San Jose, California.

A study of family functioning profiles in California and the analysis of possible differences between parents of ASD children in California, USA (n = 105) were made using the Olson (2000) Flexibility and Cohesion Evaluation Scales-IV, along with the Block and Kremen (1996) Ego Resiliency Scale which was also utilized to test personal resilience in normalized and methodologically standardized conditions.

The results obtained revealed the following information:

• 1. The family functioning profile in the examined group of parents of autistic children are generally positive, especially in the FACES IV field dimensions of cohesion and flexibility;

• 2. Parents of autistic children in California exhibit relatively good adaptation, expressed in low results in the dimensions of disengagement and enmeshment;

• 3. On the other hand, an unexpected low result was obtained in the area of family satisfaction, and as a result further investigation is recommended;

• 4. Results regarding the Ego Resiliency Scale of individual parents of ASD children in California were positive and demonstrated good adaptation.