Parents of children with autistic disorder experience a unique form of
stress that varies significantly according to socio-cultural contexts. This
review aims to investigate the stress levels of parents with children with
autistic disorder and identify variables that predict parenting stress. A
search of CINAHL, Springer, Pub Med, and EBSCO databases between the years
2001-2015 was conducted using the following keywords: parent stress, impact
stress on parent, child with autistic disorder, psychological well-being, and
35 articles out of 56 articles were included in this review. The literature
showed that socio-demographic variables influenced parental stress levels. The
highest levels of stress were reported for the cases: mothers younger than 30
years old, children younger than 6 years old, a recent diagnosis, low
educational level, low monthly income. Additionally, a major impact of autistic
disorder on parents in relation to their mental health and the family-child
relationship was discussed.
Cite this paper
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