An Investigation of Parents Who Have a Child with Autism: Social Support, Perception, Stress and Residence of Child
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Authors
Chanter, Angela Marie
Issue Date
2001
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Current research suggests that parents of children with Autism have more stress in parenting than parents of typically developing children or parents of children with mental retardation or parents of children attending an outpatient clinic (Holroyd & McArthur, 1976). This study explored the relationships among the following areas with parents who have children with Autism: the level of parental stress, the level of parental social support, and parental perception of having a child with Autism. This study intended first to break down the concept of stress, social support, and parent perception and then look for relationships between variables. 77 parents participated in the study. The subjects were adult parents from Contra Costa and Alameda counties who had a child with a diagnosis of Autism and whose child is a client of the Regional Center of the East Bay (RCEB). The subjects' children were between 3 and 12 years old. The following instruments were used: Subject Demographic Questionnaire, Kansas Inventory of Parent Perception (Behr, Murphy, & Summers, 1992), Questionnaire on Resources & Stress (Holroyd, 1987), and Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors (Berrera, 1981 ). Correlational methods were used to assess the relationship between varied characteristics. Results indicated that the parent's stress level was negatively correlated to social support. Specifically in the areas of stress regarding excess time demands placed on parents due to the child with Autism, as well as stress regarding lack of activities for the child with Autism. Parent perception was positively correlated to social networks. Thirteen specific relationships were found in this area. Parent perception was negatively correlated to the level of parental stress. Eighteen specific relationships were found in this area. Additional analyses were performed to examine ethnic differences between Caucasians and Others. Increased social support in Caucasians was positively correlated to increased stress on limits on the family opportunity but negatively correlated to lower stress for limitation on the family opportunity in Other ethnic groups. Increased social support was negatively correlated with stress related to difficult personality characteristics in Other ethnic groups but not in Caucasians. Other ethnic groups scored higher in areas of stress in physical incapacitation, overprotection/dependency, and overcommitment/martyrdom indicating greater stress related to the construct.