Perceptions of Stress and Enrichment in Caregivers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Implications for Community Support

Compared to negative experiences associated with parenting a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), research has paid much less attention to positive aspects of experiences. This study examined both experiences of stress and enrichment in parenting a child with ASD to provide insights for practi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Societies (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2018-09, Vol.8 (3), p.88
Main Authors: Lin, Hung-Chu, Bourque, Janna, Zeanah, Paula, McFatter, Robert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Behavior
Caregiver burden
Caregivers
Child development
Childhood
Childrearing practices
Children
Children & youth
Communities
Community involvement
Community support
Coping
Developmental disabilities
Effectiveness
Enrichment
Families & family life
Mothers
parenting self-efficacy
parenting stress
Parents & parenting
Personal development
Religion
Self-efficacy
Social support
Spirituality
Stress
Stresses
Support services
Symptoms
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Summary:Compared to negative experiences associated with parenting a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), research has paid much less attention to positive aspects of experiences. This study examined both experiences of stress and enrichment in parenting a child with ASD to provide insights for practical community support services. Eighty-seven caregivers responded to the Effects of the Situation Questionnaire, a modified version of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (2nd Ed.), and the Parental Sense of Competence Scale. Stress and enrichment were examined in their relations to child symptom severity, number of child-focused services, and parenting self-efficacy. Parenting self-efficacy and perceived level of stress, but not child symptom severity or number of child-focused services, were correlated with parental experiences of enrichment. The link between parenting self-efficacy and enrichment was mitigated by reported levels of stress. The findings revealed the paradoxical existence of enrichment experiences despite challenges in parenting a child with ASD. Notably, a higher number of community supports was associated with higher levels of stress, suggesting quality of support may be more important than involvement in numerous services. Moreover, enrichment occurs disregarding child’s symptoms and entails properly managing stress and a sense of parenting efficacy.
ISSN:2075-4698
2075-4698
DOI:10.3390/soc8030088