A new international study has been published in the Q1-ranked journal Frontiers in Psychiatry by three researchers affiliated with the Institute of Special Needs Education for People with Atypical Behaviour and Cognition at ELTE Bárczi Gusztáv Faculty of Special Needs Education: Márta Völgyesi-Molnár, Krisztina Stefanik and Ágota Szekeres, who are also members of the HAS–ELTE Research Group on Autism and Learning Disabilities.

The authors of the study, entitled ‘Cross-cultural associations between behavioural, emotional, and cognitive differences in autistic children and parental wellbeing: evidence from five countries’, analysed data from 219 children with autism and their families in Australia, Singapore, Hungary, Romania and the United Kingdom. The results showed that greater emotional and behavioural difficulties in children were associated with a lower quality of life for parents and higher levels of stress. These associations were similar across the five countries.

The publication is the latest outcome of a fruitful collaboration between the research group and Prof. Valsamma Eapen, which has been ongoing for several years. The collaboration began in connection with research into parents’ quality of life. The first step was the Hungarian adaptation of the QoLA questionnaire, and in 2018, Professor Eapen worked personally with the research team at Bárczi as part of a workshop. Since then, the collaboration has resulted in several joint international publications.