Reducing maternal parenting stress of children with autism spectrum disorder: father's involvement

Abstract

Objective: To explore the relationship between fathers' nursing time and maternal parenting stress of children with autism spectrum disorder(ASD). Method: Mothers of 98 ASD children who were first diagnosed in the department of Child Health Care, Children's Hospital of Fudan University during June 2015 to January 2016 were included in the ASD group, with mothers of 92 typical children from a Community Maternal and Child Health Hospital and a kindergarten in the control group. The evaluation of parenting stress, parents' nursing time and other related factors were cross-sectionally analyzed. Interview was conducted with the following tools: Parental Stress Index-Short Form(PSI-SF)for maternal parenting stress, and self-made General Parenting Information Questionnaire for nursing time of both parents and other related factors. The relationships were analyzed by Multiple Linear Regression analysis and Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test. Result: Maternal parenting stress of ASD children had a significant negative correlation with father's nursing time in total score of parenting stress, PCDI domain and PD domain (t=-2.76, -2.98, -2.79; P=0.007, 0.004, 0.006), within which PD domain also included family annual income and mothers' nursing time (R(2)=0.22, 0.24, 0.25); while no such correlation was found in control group in terms of father's nursing time(P=0.22, 0.42, 0.06). Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test showed that in 62 (63.3%) double-income ASD families and 72(78.3%) double-income typical families, there were significant differences between ASD fathers' and ASD mothers'and typical fathers'nursing time(2.0(0.5, 2.1)vs. 3.5(2.4, 6.0)vs. 3.0(2.0, 4.7)h, t=-86.32、-49.65, all P<0.01). Conclusion: Lack of fathers' involvements was common in ASD children's families. Increasing these fathers' nursing time, as well as their enthusiasm and initiative in the family intervention could relieve maternal parenting stress and improve the intervention pattern of ASD children.