Connecting the dots between stress, demands, and coping resources of parents to children with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

According to numerous studies, parents to children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more affected by stress than other parents. From a transactional perspective, parental stress is caused by the demands placed on parents and the assessment of their available resources for coping with these demands. The three studies in this doctoral dissertation therefore deal with the connections between parental stress, everyday demands, and the coping resources of parents to children with ASD. The first study aimed to find out which coping resources mediate between the demands and parental stress. This was examined by means of mediation analyses using data from N = 266 parents to children with ASD. Parental self-efficacy beliefs and dysfunctional coping were found to be significant mediators. In study II, a random intercept cross-lagged panel model was used to examine how stress and perceived partnership quality of parents to children with ASD predict each other longitudinally. Data from N = 160 parents collected at three measurement points were used. The results showed a decrease in stress levels over the course of therapy, which resulted in a lower perceived partnership quality at the last measurement point. In order to find out which demands explain parental stress before and during times of crisis, data from N = 168 before and N = 105 parents to children with ASD during the COVID-19 pandemic were used in study III and simple and multiple linear regression analyses were calculated. At both time points, dealing with the child's problem behavior, cooperation with the partner and restrictions in one's personal way of life were significant predictors of stress. Prior to the time of crisis, the stigmatizing reactions of others were also found to be informative for parental stress. The results provide evidence of the connections between the three constructs and show that parental stress should not be seen in isolation from the demands and coping resources, which suggests a more holistic view in research as well as in practical work with parents to children with ASD.