Resilience and Black families: Understanding autism disparities
Official title: Resilience as a Mechanism to Address Health Disparities of Black Autistic Children and Caregivers
Funded at Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · NIH-11310776 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study with Black families of autistic children (ages 3–9) in NC and PA will look at how parental mental health and social factors relate to child development and behavior.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2024 |
| Project end | February 28, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $732,031 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH133654-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11310776 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children with autism aged 3–9 and their Black parents or caregivers in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, who are willing to participate and share experiences.
✕Less likely to help
Families not meeting age or geographic criteria or unwilling to participate may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
This project will use a mixed-methods approach to understand why Black autistic children face delays in diagnosis and variable services by focusing on parental trauma, resilience, and social support. Researchers will recruit 300 Black parents or caregivers of autistic children and collect survey data and interviews to identify risk and resilience factors. The team will examine how parental mental health and experiences with trauma influence child behavior and development, and how social capital like income and community connections may moderate these effects. A community-partnered participatory framework will guide the study to ensure relevance to families and real-world impact. Findings could point to targeted supports to improve timely access to services and child outcomes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Better understanding of drivers of disparities could lead to more effective supports for Black families and autistic children, improving timely diagnoses and services.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work has shown links between parental well-being and child outcomes; this project adds a focused look at race-specific factors and resilience.
Where this research is happening
-
Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Boyd, Brian Antonio — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Boyd, Brian Antonio
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.