Behavioral and emotional profile and parental stress in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were shown to experience more stress than parents of typically developing peers, although little is known about risk factors predicting stress in this population. The aim of this study was to evaluate parental stress levels and behavioral and emotional problems in a sample of preschool children with ASD as compared to typically developing (TD) peers and to investigate the role of several factors, including the severity of autistic symptoms, adaptive skills, cognitive abilities and behavioral and emotional problems, on parental stress. Results confirmed that parents of children with ASD experience higher stress levels than parents of TD and that children with ASD show more behavioral and emotional problems than controls. Moreover, our results showed that behavioral and emotional problems are strong predictors of parental stress, while stress related to a parent-child dysfunctional relationship was associated with daily living and communication skills as well as cognitive abilities. Findings revealed different behavioral and emotional problems affecting parental stress in ASD and TD samples. No association between the severity of autism symptoms and parental stress was detected. These results suggest that dysfunctional behaviors in preschool children with ASD have a strong impact on parental stress, profoundly affecting the well-being of the entire family. Therefore, strategies aimed at the early detection and management of these behavioral and emotional problems are crucial in order to prevent parental stress and to develop the most appropriate treatment interventions.

Problem behaviour and psychosocial functioning in young children with Williams syndrome: parent and teacher perspectives

“…Results of studies of mixed etiology groups have generally indicated elevated rates of problem behaviour (Guralnick & Hammond 1999;Baker et al 2002Baker et al , 2003Eisenhower et al 2005;Anders et al 2012;Neece et al 2012;Predescu et al 2013;Green et al 2014). High levels of problem behaviour on the vast majority of scales have been observed for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Pandolfini et al 2009;Muratori et al 2011;Narzisi et al 2013;Giovagnoli et al 2015;Rescorla et al 2015). Studies of neurodevelopmental disorders of known genetic etiology are sparse although they are suggestive of some etiology-related phenotypic patterns (Briegel et al 2007a;Briegel et al 2007b;Samango-Sprouse et al 2013).…”

Parenting stress among parents of children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

“…Previous studies have reported that parents of children with ASD experience higher stress levels than parents of typically developing children (TD) and that children with ASD show more behavioral and emotional problems than controls suggesting that behavioral and emotional problems are strong predictors of parental stress (Davis and Carter, 2008;Giovagnoli et al, 2015;Hastings, 2002;Huang Chien-Yu et al, 2014;Lounds et al, 2007). In a meta-analyses study, examining the association between parenting stress and ADHD, some authors reported that child co-occurring externalizing behaviors, in particular conduct problems, predicted parenting stress (Theule et al, 2013).…”

The social ecology of aggression in youths with autism spectrum disorder

“…Even so, prospective studies have not demonstrated that problem behavior in younger children with ASD predicts stress in caregivers (Giovagnoli et al, 2015;Zaidman-Zait et al, 2014), although these findings have not yet been replicated with older youth.…”

“…Several family variables have also been linked with aggressive behaviors in youths with ASD. Research has shown that caregivers of youths with ASD experience high levels of stress (Estes et al, 2013;Hayes & Watson, 2013) and that caregiver stress is strongly predictive of aggressive behavior in these youths (Giovagnoli et al, 2015;Zaidman-Zait et al, 2014). There is also evidence that caregivers of aggressive youths with ASD are more likely to experience mental health problems (e.g., anxiety, depression) and to use maladaptive coping strategies (e.g., avoidance, denial, substance use; Seymour, Wood, Giallo, & Jellett, 2012) than are caregivers of youths with ASD who do not engage in aggressive behaviors (Hastings et al, 2005;Tomanik, Harris, & Hawkins, 2004).…”