Parental symptoms of posttraumatic stress following a child's diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder: A pilot study

Women's posttraumatic stress symptoms and autism spectrum disorder in their children

“…Parenting children with ASD has been associated with high levels of stress, lower social support, and associated mental health symptoms, including depression, though the association with PTSD has not been examined, aside from a single study of PTSD related to child’s receipt of an ASD diagnosis (Casey, et al, 2012). Studies examining the association of depression with parenting a child with ASD have suggested that greater time pressure, degree of child’s impairment (Bebko, Konstantareas, & Springer, 1987; Davis & Carter, 2008; Dumas, Wolf, Fisman, & Culligan, 1991), and the broad autism phenotype in parents, through associations with reduced social support and maladaptive coping, may explain the association (Brooke Ingersoll & Hambrick, 2011; B.…”

“…A recent meta-analysis found a large effect size on parenting-related stress associated with children with ASD versus both normally developing children and children with Down Syndrome (Hayes & Watson, 2013). One study using a selected sample of parents of children with ASD found that receiving the diagnosis of ASD induced posttraumatic stress symptoms in some parents (Casey et al, 2012). Parenting stress related to offspring ASD has also been linked with other stressors, such as marital discord (Walsh & O’Leary, 2013), financial stress (Sharpe & Baker, 2011), time pressure (Sawyer et al, 2010), stigma (Gray, 2002; Mak & Kwok, 2010), and decreased social support (Benson & Karlof, 2009; Brooke Ingersoll & Hambrick, 2011).…”

“I received a leaflet and that is all”: Father experiences of a diagnosis of autism

“…() were largely female (93%), comparable to the proportion of mothers (92%) taking part in Casey et al. ()'s study of post‐traumatic stress following an autism diagnosis. Similarly, in Gaspar de Alba and Bodfish's () research on addressing the concerns of parents at the time of diagnosis, only 7% of respondents were fathers.…”

“…In the field of autism, parental perspectives on diagnosis have largely been confined to quantitative studies undertaken with mothers. For example, participants in the large-scale study by Crane et al (2015) were largely female (93%), comparable to the proportion of mothers (92%) taking part in Casey et al (2012)'s study of post-traumatic stress following an autism diagnosis. Similarly, in Gaspar de Alba and Bodfish's (2011) research on addressing the concerns of parents at the time of diagnosis, only 7% of respondents were fathers.…”

‘I accept my son for who he is – he has incredible character and personality’: fathers’ positive experiences of parenting children with autism

“…Causes and levels of parental stress have been explored (Allen, Bowles, and Weber 2013;Casey et al 2012); the impact of stress on parental health (Kiani, khodabakhsh, and Hashjin 2014;Hartley et al 2012) and stress and parental coping (Dabrowska and Pisula 2010;Pisula and Kossakowska 2010). The fact that parents of disabled children experience significant stress is not in doubt.…”