The factors predicting stress, anxiety and depression in the parents of children with autism remain poorly understood. In this study, a cohort of 250 mothers and 229 fathers of one or more children with autism completed a questionnaire assessing reported parental mental health problems, locus of control, social support, perceived parent-child attachment, as well as autism symptom severity and perceived externalizing behaviours in the child with autism. Variables assessing parental cognitions and socioeconomic support were found to be more significant predictors of parental mental health problems than child-centric variables. A path model, describing the relationship between the dependent and independent variables, was found to be a good fit with the observed data for both mothers and fathers.
History
Publication title
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Volume
44
Issue
12
Pagination
3185-3203
ISSN
0162-3257
Department/School
Menzies Institute for Medical Research
Publisher
Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publ
Place of publication
233 Spring St, New York, USA, Ny, 10013
Rights statement
Copyright 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York