MEDIATING ROLE OF ACCEPTANCE ON PARENTAL STRESS AND COPING AMONG PARENTS HAVING CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER abstract

Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong heterogeneous neurodevelopmental condition which includes social and communication impairments and restricted stereotypical patterns of behavior and interests. This is considered as chronic condition and it requires multiple therapy procedures and Rehabilitation for improvement of the condition. Parental acceptance of children with disability is very significant as it effects the perception of the problem, and the way they adopt coping strategies to deal effectively with the problem of the child. Parents especially of children with ASD undergo lot of stress as it is a chronic condition associated with poor adaptive skills and behavioural problems which makes them feel more stressed.Objectives: To study the level of distress and coping strategies among parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Methods: Sampling method included purposive sampling. About 50 parents aged between 25 years to 50 years old, who is the primary care giver of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, attending OP services from NIEPMD, Chennai were included in the study. Parents who are single and having any other chronic physical or mental illness were excluded from the study. The participants were approached individually and after obtaining informed consent, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Parental Acceptance Questionnaire (PAR-Q), and Coping Health Inventory for parents (CHIP) were administered. The data obtained were statistically analyzed to assess the level of distress of parents with disability, different coping strategies they adopt, and mediating effect of Acceptance on relationship between coping strategies and stress. Results: The results showed that the majority of the parents are found to have psychological distress and the rejection level was found to be mildly high than the acceptance level of the parents. There is negative relationship between coping strategies and level of distress among these parents having children with ASD. Further, it was also found that level of acceptance plays a significant mediating role and it affects the relationship between coping strategies and level of distress among the parents. Conclusion: The study highlighted the importance of identifying mental health issues among parents having children with ASD and it also signifies the importance of adopting strategies to enhance the Acceptance level and coping strategies while delivering intervention programs for parents having children with ASD.