Family functioning, parenting stress and quality of life in mothers and fathers of Polish children with high functioning autism or Asperger syndrome

PLoS One. 2017 Oct 16;12(10):e0186536. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186536. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the perception of the family functioning in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with normal-range intelligence and the relationships between family functioning, parenting stress and quality of life. Dyads of parents of children with ASD without intellectual disability and parents of typically developing children (controls) completed a set of self-report questionnaires. Parents of children with ASD reported lower functioning of the family as a whole and their own functioning as family members; they exhibited higher levels of parenting stress and lower quality of life. Mothers of children with ASD experienced more stress in personal domain than fathers. Relationships between family functioning, parenting stress and quality of life have been established. There were also moderate to strong correlations in mother-father dyads between their assessments of family functioning, parenting stress and QoL in social relationships and environmental domains.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Asperger Syndrome / psychology*
  • Autistic Disorder / psychology*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Child
  • Fathers / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mothers / psychology*
  • Poland
  • Quality of Life*
  • Regression Analysis
  • Self Report
  • Stress, Psychological*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by a grant from the University of Warsaw (no. BST 1777.02/2016) and a grant from the Polish National Science Center (grant number N N106 352940).