Locus of control fails to mediate between stress and anxiety and depression in parents of children with a developmental disorder

Abstract

Stress, anxiety and depression are raised amongst parents of children with a developmental disorder. However, the processes by which stress leads to depression and anxiety are poorly understood. In a cross-sectional survey, levels of parental stress, depression and anxiety were compared between parents of children with an autistic disorder, children with Down's syndrome and children with no disorder (N = 619) and the mediational role of locus of control was examined. Anxiety and depression were higher in parents of children with a disorder, and highest in parents of children with autism. Locus of control was more external in parents of children with autism. Locus of control failed to mediate the relationship between stress and both anxiety and depression in parents of children with a disorder. This suggests that help for parents of a child with a disorder may be effective if focused on the sources of stress rather than perceived control over events.

Correlação entre a oralidade de crianças com distúrbios do espectro do autismo e o nível de estresse de seus pais

“…These data agree with several other studies that state that parents of children with autism have more stress than parents without complaints about their children development or than parents of children with other conditions, such as Down syndrome (12,18,25) . The hypothesis that parents of children with ASD have higher levels of stress than parents of children with typical development was confirmed also by another study (20) .…”

Scoping Review: Autism Research in Baltic States—What Is Known and What Is Still To Be Studied

“…These findings are supported by previous research findings (Sharpley et al 1997;Hamlyn-Wright et al 2007). …”

Famílias com crianças autistas na literatura internacional

“…Os periódicos incluídos no estudo são (1,(10)(11)13,(18)(19)22,(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)35) ; grupos de apoio e qualidade de vida (2,12,21,23,27,33,36) , caracterização das famílias e seus membros (5-6,9,20,24,36,38) ; processos de intervenção e seus resultados (7,(14)(15)17,34) ; como os pais vêem seus filhos autistas (3-4,8,30-32,37) . Embora alguns artigos abordem diversos desses temas, ainda assim causa impacto o número reduzido de trabalhos envolvendo processos de intervenção, baseados nas famílias ou que incluam sua participação sistemática.…”