Impact of Having an Autistic Child on Parental Stress and General Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Children with developmental disabilities occupy a niche area in research literature. This has enabled us to have an in depth understanding into their condition and the problems they face. However, an often-overlooked component of disability is the effect that it has on the family as a unit. Caring for a child with a disability is a taxing task which can strain the physical and psychological resources of their caretakers or their parents. The present study is aimed at understanding the differences in parental stress and general self-efficacy among parents with and without autistic children. It further tries to predict these factors on the basis of the presence of an autistic child. The study was conducted on 70 parents distributed equally based on the presence and absence of autism in their child. The parental stress scale and general self-efficacy scale were used and it was found that self-efficacy is lower and parental stress is higher among parents with Autistic children. The study also concluded that higher parental stress and lower self-efficacy is predicted by the presence of an Autistic child.