Parenting stress in raising autistic children

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Child Psychology
• Family Studies

Background:

• Research on parents coping with autistic children in chronic stressful situations is lacking.
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) presents unique and ongoing challenges for families.
• Understanding parental stress and coping mechanisms is crucial for supporting families with autistic children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between parenting burden and life satisfaction in parents of autistic children.
• To examine how the division of parenting tasks affects parental well-being.
• To explore gender differences in coping strategies and life satisfaction among parents of autistic children.

Main Methods:

• A review of existing literature identified a gap in research concerning parental coping with autistic children.
• 46 parents of 23 autistic children (aged 7-14) completed self-report measures.
• Measures assessed overall parenting difficulty, task distribution, burden fairness, satisfaction, and personal life satisfaction.

Main Results:

• Parenting difficulty and burden were significant factors influencing parents' life satisfaction.
• For fathers, absolute parenting burden was the key predictor of life satisfaction.
• For mothers, relative parenting burden was the primary predictor, linked to societal roles.

Conclusions:

• Findings align with cognitive appraisal theories of stress.
• Perceived burden, both absolute and relative, significantly impacts parental well-being.
• Gender roles influence how parenting burden affects life satisfaction in mothers and fathers.