Associations Between Feeding Difficulties, Parental Quality of Life, and Coparenting in Turkish Families of Children With and Without Autism

Feeding difficulties are widely reported among children with autism, yet their broader implications for parental quality of life and coparenting remain underexplored, particularly in non-Western contexts. This study examined the associations between children’s feeding difficulties, parental quality of life, and coparenting in families of children with and without autism in Türkiye. This cross-sectional study included 125 parents in Türkiye (67 parents of children with autism; 58 parents of typically developing children) who had children aged 3–9 years. Data were collected using the Quality of Life in Autism Questionnaire (QoLA), the Coparenting Relationship Scale, and the Brief Autism Mealtime Behavior Inventory (BAMBI). The study explored (a) group differences in feeding difficulties, parental quality of life, and coparenting, and (b) the associations among these variables within both groups. Children with autism showed higher feeding difficulties than typically developing (TD) peers (z = 2.52, p = .012, r = .23). In the autism group, feeding difficulties were negatively associated with parental quality of life (ρ = −0.43, 95% CI [− 0.61, − 0.21], p < .001) and coparenting (ρ = −0.33, 95% CI [− 0.53, − 0.10], p < .01). In the TD group, the quality of life association was weaker (ρ = −0.27, 95% CI [− 0.49, − 0.01], p < .05), and the coparenting association was not significant. Feeding difficulties may operate as stressors linked to reduced parental QoL and, in autism, to lower coparenting quality. Findings support the value of family-informed approaches to feeding challenges and warrant longitudinal and intervention research across settings.