Motivational and Personality Sphere in Mothers of Autist Children: North America and Western Europe

Abstract

Over the past decade the number of children under the age of three years, who were diagnosed with autism or autistic spectrum disorder is rapidly increasing in the countries of North America and Western Europe. Researchers noted a sharp deterioration in the psychological and physical health of mothers of autistic children, resulting in the high levels of stress, depression and anxiety disorders, emotional burnout. Therefore, authors of this article give a review of scientific theses and papers published over the past 15 years devoted to the study of specific features of the mental state in mothers of children with a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (autism), published in North America (US and Canada) and Western Europe (United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden, etc.) We also highlighted a number of factors contributing to the negative emotional state of mothers and compensatory resources to help them to coping with the situation.