These studies have revealed that parents of
children with autistic disorder experience higher levels of stress than parents of children with other types of disorders or disabilities.
The study results revealed that mothers of children
with autistic disorder reported significantly higher levels of depression than mothers of children without autism and experienced distress more than fathers of children with developmental disabilities.
Parenting stress has been one of the most frequently researched aspects of family life among parents of children with autistic disorder [41].
Parents of child
with autistic disorder considered a unique experience of stress that varied significantly according to socio cultural contexts, but mainly associated with type of disability that presented in their children.
The study results revealed that parents of children
with autistic disorder reported significantly higher level of depression compared to parents of children typically developing.
The study confirmed that mothers of children
with autistic disorder experience higher levels of depression and reported less than quality of life compared with mothers of children with intellectual disability.
Consequently, all studies agreed that negative wellbeing, depression, anxiety, and negatively impact of family - child relationship were
associated with autistic disorder.
Overall, a review of the literature concluded that parents of children
diagnosed with autistic disorder reported more mental health problems, compared with parents caring for a child with others intellectual disability [48][54][56]- [61].
Looking closely at the data, researchers discovered that moms who took folic acid early in pregnancy had a 39 % lower risk of having a child
with autistic disorder although no association was found with Asperger syndrome or PDD - NOS
Consistent with the previous studies [18][39], Osborne and Reed [40] investigated the relationship between behavior problems and parenting stress in a sample of 137 parents with children
with autistic disorder using the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS) and the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (QRS - F).
Kim and Mahoney [44] reported that mothers of children
with autistic disorder showed strong relationships with children more than fathers and were not affect by child behavior and stress level.
Attachment was assessed in
toddlers with Autistic Disorder (n = 20), Pervasive Developmental Disorder (n = 14), Mental Retardation (n = 12), Language Development Disorder (n = 16), and a non-clinical comparison group (n = 18), using the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP).
They reported having more obligations with regard to family management and spent more time in a direct caregiving role for the child with autistic disorder [11][12][17]- [21].
Children with autistic disorders experience a complex range of social, emotional and behavioral difficulties that present significant and ongoing concerns for parents [11].
Based on MRI findings, the scientists observed the sulcal pits of 102 young boys aged 2 to 10 years, who were placed in three groups (
those with autistic disorder, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, and typically developing children).
Gastrointestinal abnormalities in children
with autistic disorder.
Their study revealed that early diagnosis was associated with higher levels of parenting stress of children
with autistic disorder.
Parenting a child
with autistic disorder has been associated with wide range of negative emotional outcomes [53].
A search of CINAHL, Springer, Pub Med, and EBSCO databases between the years 2001 - 2015 was conducted using the following keywords: parent stress, impact stress on parent, child
with autistic disorder, psychological well - being, and 35 articles out of 56 articles were included in this review.
Commonly, studies have compared an overall measure of stress between parents of children
with autistic disorder to those of parents of children with typical development [31]- [34] or those diagnosed with Down Syndrome, intellectual disability, and Fragile X syndrome [15][16][19][35]- [38].
Similarly, Olsson and Hwang [58] investigated depression among parents of children
with autistic disorder and parents of children without disability.
children
with autistic disorder.
Their study sample included 228 parents of children diagnosed
with autistic disorder, between 6 - 21 years of age.
Additionally, Gau et al. [48] compared depression levels among 219 parent of children
with autistic disorder and parents of children with other disabilities using the BDI.
The literature review explored factors associated with parenting stress of children
with autistic disorder (i.e., parent gender, age, child age, marital status, monthly income, and educational level).
In their study, 23 parents of children
with autistic disorder were included as participants.
The following literature review has identified two aspects that impact on parents of children
with autistic disorder.
This review aims to investigate the stress levels of parents with children
with autistic disorder and identify variables that predict parenting stress.
The relationship between psychological functioning, family communication, and parenting of the child
with autistic disorder were studied by Montes and Halterman [52], a total of 772 parents of children with autism, who were 4 to 17 years of age, were interviewed.
The association between marital satisfaction and characteristics (gender, age, and intellectual disability status) of the child
with autistic disorder was studied by Hartley et al [49].
In addition, the results indicated that single mothers of children
with autistic disorder were found to be more vulnerable to higher level of depression than mothers living with a partner.
In the study, interviews were conducted with 50 mothers of children who were diagnosed
with autistic disorder, with a mean age of 5.98 years old.
Singer [57] examined and compared depression among parents of children
with autistic disorder and parents of children without development disabilities, in a meta - analysis of 18 studies conducted between 1984 and 2003.
Extensive research has compared parents of children
with autistic disorder to parents of children with and without disabilities.
In contrast, numerous studies contradict in the result regarding impact of autism on family - child relationship, which reveals the increase of parents» relationship and their children
with autistic disorder.
In their study, 42 couples with children aged between 2 and 12 years diagnosed
with autistic disorder were interviewed using the Parenting Stress Index (PSI).
Koren - Karie et al. [47] presented the idea that secure attachment among children
with autistic disorder was associated with variance of developmental competencies and greater parental sensitivity, but not to the severity of clinical features of autism.
All studies agreed that mother younger than 30 years old, child younger than 6 years old, recently time diagnosed, low educational level, low monthly income and single parent were related to high level of parenting stress of children
with autistic disorder.
Children
with autistic disorder may have a very limited awareness of others and are at increased risk for other mental disorders.