Factors Relating to Parental Stress in the Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This cross-sectional, non-experimental research study investigates factors relating to parental stress in the parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Saudi Arabia. The study follows the presumption that most parents become stressed when seeing their children distressed and unhappy due to ASD as they worry that their children may struggle and remain in a distressful state forever. There was no evidence in the relevant literature of a study in Saudi Arabia that looked at factors contributing to stress in parents of children with ASD. Therefore, it was necessary to conduct this study as it will contribute towards the body of knowledge used by those giving advice and support to parents with ASD children. Three hundred and twenty-one participants (over 18 years- old and parents of children with ASD) were selected. For the data analysis, SPSS software was used to identify the mean parental stress factors, using Pearson correlations (p=0.01 and p=0.05) and regression analyses of the variables at the alpha value of p=0.05 and significance level of 95%. It was found that there were significant relationships between factors of study and parental stress. There were also positive correlations between parental stress and children with ASD behavioural problems. Therefore, it was concluded that parents who lack ASD coping strategies found coping with their children’s behaviour challenging.