Vicarious futurity in autism and childhood dementia.

Vicarious futurity is the hope and despair that a person has for another's future. This study examined the vicarious futurity of parents of children with autism and childhood dementia. Participants were 22 parents of children with autism and 7 parents of children with childhood dementia. Variability in levels of vicarious hope and vicarious despair was found highlighting the complexity of vicarious futurity. Results indicated that levels of vicarious hope and vicarious despair and the association between the two constructs are likely to have greater explanatory value than either construct considered on its own or a global score that combines both. Directions for further research are discussed.