Coping strategies in mothers and fathers of preschool and school-age children with autism

Abstract

Despite the theoretical and demonstrated empirical significance of parental coping strategies for the wellbeing of families of children with disabilities, relatively little research has focused explicitly on coping in mothers and fathers of children with autism. In the present study, 89 parents of preschool children and 46 parents of school-age children completed a measure of the strategies they used to cope with the stresses of raising their child with autism. Factor analysis revealed four reliable coping dimensions: active avoidance coping, problem-focused coping, positive coping, and religious/denial coping. Further data analysis suggested gender differences on the first two of these dimensions but no reliable evidence that parental coping varied with the age of the child with autism. Associations were also found between coping strategies and parental stress and mental health. Practical implications are considered including reducing reliance on avoidance coping and increasing the use of positive coping strategies.

Ways of coping and mental burnout of Bedouin mothers compared to Bedouin fathers of children with ASD

“…The second reason is that the Middle Eastern culture relies on a strong family support system based on the extended family lifestyle [9]. It is possible that effective social support could lead to better ways of coping, which in turn would help reduce mental burnout and lead to improved functioning, for both mothers and fathers [39][40][41][42][43].…”

The Brief Family Distress Scale: A Measure of Crisis in Caregivers of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…Common outcomes of stressors can include increased parent stress (Saloviita et al, 2003), depression (Hastings & Brown, 2002), marital discord and poor sibling adjustment (Prince, 2007) and quality of life (Lee, 2009), reflecting an impact on the entire family. There are known processes that mediate the relation between stressor and outcome, which include coping styles (Hastings et al, 2005), psychological acceptance (MacDonald et al, 2010), and self-efficacy (Hastings & Brown, 2002). We also know that targeting the psychological processes that act as mediators, through interventions like mindfulness training, can have a substantial impact on the child and parent (e.g., Blackledge & Hayes, 2006;Singh et al, 2010).…”

Quality of Life in Mothers of Children with Cerebral Palsy

“…Motor disorders in cerebral palsy are often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, communication and behavior, epilepsy or secondary musculoskeletal problems 9 . A child with cerebral palsy requires constant care, frequent medical examinations, continuous physical and educational-rehabilitation therapy and it affects the family dynamics 10 , especially mothers 11 , because they are the carriers of care, do most of the work related to the child, and spend most of the time with the child.…”