Parental Competences and Stress Levels in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Children Developing Neurotypically
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Parental Competence Test
2.2. The PSS-10 Questionnaire
2.3. Research Organisation
2.4. Statistical Methods
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
- Women surveyed who have a child with an ASD show higher levels of stress related to their own living situation.
- Parents of children with autism are exposed to chronic stress.
- Mothers of children with autism demonstrate lower parental competences than mothers of neurotypical children. Mothers of children with autism are less rigorous but more permissive.
- Mothers of children with autism are more overprotective and helpless. They tend to become heavily involved with their child.
- An overprotective attitude and a greater tolerance for antisocial behaviours among parents of children with ASDs protect them from excessive stress.
- High helplessness indicates the lack of skill in enforcing demands and a tendency to be subservient to the child with an ASD.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Parameter | Mothers of Children with ASDs | Mothers of Neurotypical Children |
---|---|---|
Age (years) | 42.1 ± 4.02 | 36.9 ± 2.73 |
Married (%) | 65 | 70 |
Divorced (%) | 35 | 30 |
Primary school education (%) | 0 | 0 |
Vocational school education (%) | 25 | 0 |
Secondary school education (%) | 40 | 0 |
Higer education (undergraduate) (%) | 10 | 0 |
Higher education (postgraduate) (%) | 25 | 100 |
Place of residence—rural area (%) | 50 | 0 |
Town below 10,000 residents (%) | 30 | 0 |
Town of 10,000 to 49,000 (%) | 20 | 0 |
Town of 50,000 to 99,000 (%) | 0 | 100 |
City over 100,000 (%) | 0 | 0 |
Parameter | Children with ASDs | Neurotypical children |
Age of child (years) | 12.4 ± 1.39 | 12.05 ± 1.54 |
Girls (%) | 20 | 55 |
Boys (%) | 80 | 45 |
Test | Parameter under Study | Study | Arithmetic Mean | Standard Deviation | Median | Kruskal–Wallis Test |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PSS-10 | Stress level | ASD children’s mothers | 6.00 | 1.78 | 6.00 | p = 0.0002 |
Neurotypical children’s mothers | 4.10 | 1.17 | 4.00 | |||
Parental Competence Test | Parental Competences | ASD children’s mothers | 6.15 | 1.57 | 6.00 | p = 0.04 |
Neurotypical children’s mothers | 7.00 | 1.95 | 7.50 | |||
Rigour | ASD children’s mothers | 4.45 | 1.47 | 4.00 | p = 0.001 | |
Neurotypical children’s mothers | 6.90 | 1.33 | 7.00 | |||
Permissiveness | ASD children’s mothers | 6.70 | 1.26 | 7.00 | p = 0.02 | |
Neurotypical children’s mothers | 5.00 | 2.43 | 4.50 | |||
Overprotectiveness | ASD children’s mothers | 6.25 | 2.55 | 5.00 | p = 0.005 | |
Neurotypical children’s mothers | 4.00 | 2.20 | 4.00 | |||
Helplessness | ASD children’s mothers | 7.25 | 1.71 | 7.00 | p = 0.001 | |
Neurotypical children’s mothers | 4.10 | 3.09 | 3.00 |
Parameter under Study | Estimate Std. | Error | p |
---|---|---|---|
Parental Competences | 1.587 | 0.213 | 0.001 |
Rigour | 0.174 | 0.163 | 0.302 |
Permissiveness | 1.077 | 0.205 | 0.0001 |
Overprotectiveness | −0.309 | 0.121 | 0.023 |
Helplessness | 0.074 | 0.175 | 0.681 |
Parameter under Study | Estimate Std. | Error | p |
---|---|---|---|
Parental Competences | 1.578 | 0.191 | 0.001 |
Permissiveness | 0.984 | 0.170 | 0.001 |
Overprotectiveness | −0.309 | 0.106 | 0.010 |
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Tyszkiewicz-Gromisz, B.; Burdzicka-Wołowik, J.; Tymosiewicz, P.; Gromisz, W. Parental Competences and Stress Levels in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Children Developing Neurotypically. J. Clin. Med. 2024, 13, 1119. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13041119
Tyszkiewicz-Gromisz B, Burdzicka-Wołowik J, Tymosiewicz P, Gromisz W. Parental Competences and Stress Levels in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Children Developing Neurotypically. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2024; 13(4):1119. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13041119
Chicago/Turabian StyleTyszkiewicz-Gromisz, Beata, Joanna Burdzicka-Wołowik, Piotr Tymosiewicz, and Wilhelm Gromisz. 2024. "Parental Competences and Stress Levels in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Children Developing Neurotypically" Journal of Clinical Medicine 13, no. 4: 1119. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13041119
APA StyleTyszkiewicz-Gromisz, B., Burdzicka-Wołowik, J., Tymosiewicz, P., & Gromisz, W. (2024). Parental Competences and Stress Levels in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Children Developing Neurotypically. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13(4), 1119. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13041119