Gender Differences in Stress among Parents of Children with Autism

Background: Researches in the recent years have consistently shown that parents of children with autism experience greater stress than parents of children without autism. There has been enormous understanding into the various challenges that these parents face. However, till date there have been no reported studies on gender differences in stress faced by parents of children with autism, especially in Indian context. Objective: The aim of the present research was to study and compare parenting stress and its domains in parents of children with autism. Participants and Methodology: The study sample consisted of 100 parents of children with autism- 50 mothers and 50 fathers selected using purposive sampling and fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria. Parenting Stress Index was used to study the total stress and its domains (child domain and parent domain) in the sample. Descriptive and inferential statistics was applied using SPSS version 17.0. Results showed no significant differences in total stress as well as on both the domains between the two study groups. To conclude, there are no gender differences in parenting stress among parents of children with autism.