Parenting Styles, Parental Stress, and Quality of Life Among Caregivers of Thai Children with Autism

Abstract

ABSTRACT Parenting children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is challenging. Parents of such children reportedly experience high levels of stress and poor mental health. This study aimed to assess the parenting styles, parental stress, and caregivers’ quality of life of children with ASD and compare them to those of children without ASD. Sixty-one and 63 caregivers of children with and without ASD, respectively, were recruited into the study and asked to complete parenting style, parental stress, and quality of life questionnaires. Of 124 caregivers, those of children with ASD reported lower authoritative scores, but higher permissive parenting style scores than those of children without ASD (p = .01 and p = .02, respectively). Significantly greater parental stress scores (p < .001) and poorer parental quality of life were reported by caregivers in ASD group. Furthermore, higher parental stress correlated moderately with following parenting styles: lower authoritative, higher authoritarian, and higher permissive. A negative correlation was found between the children with ASD’s quality of life and some parenting styles, including authoritarian and permissive types. Our results suggest that promoting appropriate parenting styles and helping caregivers manage their parenting stress could be beneficial for caregivers of children with autism.