Parenting Stress and Coping Strategies of Mothers with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Chennai District – A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

A diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has the potential to put in shock the entire family and can disrupt the functioning of the family thus affecting the family dynamics. It can create both physical and mental stress to parents having a psychological impact. The parents have to cope up with a lot of things including coming to terms or accepting the diagnosis, seeking guidance from experts, managing finance for therapy expenses, shuffling between therapies etc. The aim of this study was to assess stress and coping strategies among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in Chennai district. Methodology: The study design constitutes a cross sectional study with descriptive data analysis. Targeted research audience consists of geographically urban domiciled parents of children with ASD aged between 3-12 years across all severity types. The research habitat focused on Private Clinical Centres, Chennai (Sample Size: 66). Purposive Sampling was used. Autism Parenting Stress Index (APSI). Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales (F-COPES) modified for the use of target population and subject sensitivity were used. Results: Parents of children with Autism showed approximately 80% prevalence of ‘Often Creates Stress’ to ‘Very Stressful on a daily Basis’ on the APSI. The results revealed that child’s Aggressive behaviour and self injurious behaviour are the factor was most contributed to parenting stress in parents of children with autism, Coping strategy most used was evidenced as belief in a Higher Power along with passive acceptance of the issue by 65% of the study population. Conclusion:  These findings suggest that parents’ abilities to manage and reduce behavior problems is a critical target for interventions for young children with ASD in order to improve child functioning and decrease parenting-related stress.