Parents of children on the autism spectrum are particularly susceptible to strain in their romantic relationships due to unique risk factors. While some relationships deteriorate, however, others endure and thrive. The Vulnerability Stress Adaptation (VSA) Model of Marriage (Karney & Bradbury, 1995; Fig. 1) offers a framework to explain, not only poor marital outcomes, but also the process by which degradation of relationships occurs over time. The VSA Model posits that a combination of internal (within-person) vulnerabilities and external stressors influence relationship quality and, in turn, stability, by affecting couples’ abilities to collaborate to adapt to stressors and solve problems (i.e., adaptive processes). With robust theoretical grounding, this review comprehensively summarizes and integrates literature pertaining to the romantic relationships of couples raising an autistic child through the lens of the VSA Model. Vulnerabilities, stressors, and adaptive processes relevant to these couples are identified, and empirical evidence pertaining to the proposed pathways in the VSA Model is explored. The body of research reviewed provides support for many of the proposed pathways in the VSA Model, especially related to certain stressors (i.e., child behavior problems) and vulnerabilities (i.e., parent depression), yet it falls short in exploring mechanisms by which these factors beget marital dysfunction (i.e., through adaptive processes). Additional gaps and methodological limitations in the literature are highlighted, and recommendations for future research are provided.

由于独特的风险因素，自闭症谱系儿童的父母特别容易受到浪漫关系的影响。然而，虽然有些关系恶化，但另一些关系却能忍受并茁壮成长。婚姻的脆弱性压力适应 (VSA) 模型（Karney & Bradbury，1995；图 1）提供了一个框架来解释，不仅婚姻结果不佳，而且关系随着时间的推移发生退化的过程。VSA 模型假定，内部（人内）脆弱性和外部压力因素的组合会影响关系质量，进而影响稳定性，通过影响夫妻合作适应压力源和解决问题（即，适应过程）的能力。凭借扎实的理论基础，本综述通过 VSA 模型全面总结和整合了有关抚养自闭症儿童的夫妻浪漫关系的文献。确定了与这些夫妻相关的脆弱性、压力源和适应过程，并探索了与 VSA 模型中提议的途径有关的经验证据。所审查的研究主体为 VSA 模型中的许多拟议途径提供了支持，尤其是与某些压力源（即儿童行为问题）和脆弱性（即父母抑郁）相关的研究，但它在探索这些因素的机制方面存在不足导致婚姻功能障碍（即通过适应过程）。强调了文献中的其他差距和方法学局限性，并提供了对未来研究的建议。