Social support and the feelings of mothers caring for children with autism

Le résumé fourni par la source

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the feelings of mothers caring for children with autism. In addition, mother's stress and support needs were investigated. Methods: 88 mothers of individuals with autism completed questionnaires on the feelings of mothers with handicapped children, social support, and they freely described the mother's stress and support needs. Results: Factor analysis revealed that mother's feelings consisted of four factors: Pessimistic Feelings, Positive Attitudes to Childcare, Self-Growth, and Inability to Accept Disability. Compared to mothers of children with autism with severe intellectual disabilities, those of children without intellectual disabilities had a significantly greater Inability to Accept Disability. Many mothers experienced the most stress during infancy, and stressors included the challenging behaviors of the child and the difficulty of childcare. Effective sources of support included other parents of children with autism, professionals, and the husband. Conclusion: Positive and negative feelings of mothers of children with autism were identified. Mothers experienced various types of stressors, and these stressors continued beyond adulthood. Finally, the clinical implications of the present results are discussed.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.