Relationship Between Self-Reported Health and Stress in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

The current study explore the relationship between various forms of experienced stress (general stress and parenting stress) and both health-related quality of life (QoL) and reported physical health symptoms. One hundred and twenty-two mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder responded to an online survey included questionnaires on general stress, parenting stress, health-related QoL, and physical symptoms. The results suggested that perceived general stress as associated with both a reduced health-related QoL and more physical symptoms. However, parenting stress was only associated with a reduced health-related QoL, and not with physical health. These results are discussed in relation to the complex impact of prolonged and predictable parenting stress on the cortisol response and immune system.

Actual and perceived speedy diagnoses are associated with mothers’ unresolved reactions to a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder for a child

“…That is, the mothers were not rating the length of the diagnostic process in the light of their resolution of the diagnosis, and, when asked about the period, they may say that it took a long time, and Reaction to diagnosis -15 the length of time was frustrating. These current findings are also consistent with crosssectional studies of several disorders that have noted parents who experience a speedier diagnosis report higher levels of parenting stress (Lowes et al, 2004;Osborne et al, 2008a), and worse physical health (Reed et al, 2016b).…”

“…Increases in these aspects of parental functioning may, in themselves, lead to negative impacts on parental health (Reed & Osborne, 2010;Reed et al, 2016b), and also to a worse prognosis for their children (Osborne et al, 2008b;Robins et al, 1991). Moreover, participants might have differed in how they understood the question about the speed of the diagnostic process.…”

I’m Not Good for Anything and That’s Why I’m Stressed: Analysis of the Effect of Self-Efficacy and Emotional Intelligence on Student Stress Using SEM and QCA

“…Stress is one of the most studied psychosocial factors related to many aspects of life, such as work development (or job performance) (Burton et al, 2017), academic performance (Caballero et al, 2015), health and emotional well-being (Dhabhar, 2014;Klein et al, 2016;Reed et al, 2016), illness (Cohen et al, 2007), or adaptation to specific situations (Boswell et al, 2013;Banerjee and Chatterjee, 2016;Stuart et al, 2016).…”

Quality of Life, Coping Styles, Stress Levels, and Time Use in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Comparing Single Versus Coupled Households

“…One study reported insufficient statistical power to compare parental coping strategies based on the single versus coupled household status (Twoy, Connolly, & Novak, 2007). Some studies have used the household status in their statistical analyses (Benjak, 2011;Bromley et al, 2004;Reed, Sejunaite, & Osborne, 2016). For example, one study that compared subjective QoL between parents of children with ASD and parents of children without a disability in Croatia conducted a logistic regression analysis with an independent variable of single versus coupled household status (Benjak, 2011).…”