Parenting stress in autism spectrum disorder: A comparative analysis with other developmental disabilities

To compare parenting stress between parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities (DDs) and to examine ASD's influence on parenting stress through mediation analysis.

We retrospectively analyzed 48 children with ASD (ASD group) and 77 with non-ASD DDs (non-ASD group), along with one of their parents, at the Gyeongsang National University Hospital between May 2021 and August 2024. All underwent developmental assessments and completed the Korean version of the Parenting Stress Index-4 and the Child Interactive Behavior Test (CIBT).

The ASD group's median age was 37.5 months, with 37 boys (77.1 %). No significant difference was found in child age, sex, or parental demographics between the groups. Total parenting stress was significantly higher in the ASD group (p = 0.01), primarily due to higher child domain scores (p<0.01) than in the non-ASD group. Among the child domain subscales, Distractibility/Hyperactivity, Adaptability, Reinforces Parent, and Acceptability were significantly higher in the ASD group, while only the Attachment subscale differed in the parent domain. For high parenting stress (>85th percentile), Initiative Interaction-a CIBT subscale-was the only independent predictor, rather than ASD diagnosis. Mediation analysis showed no direct effect of ASD on parenting stress (β = 4.28, p = 0.42) but an indirect effect via reduced initial interaction (β = 3.68, p<0.05).

Parenting stress was higher in the ASD group, mainly due to child-related factors. ASD influenced parenting stress indirectly through reduced initiative interaction. These findings provide further insight into parenting stress in families of children with ASD.