Stress Levels and Coping Strategies among Parents of Children with Autism and Down Syndrome: The Effect of Demographic Variables on Levels of Stress

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis study evaluated levels of stress among parents of children who are diagnosed with autism and Down syndrome in Jordan, identified the coping strategies used by parents, and compared their stress levels with those of parents of typically developed children. Parents in centers of special needs and mainstream schools in Amman, Zarqa, and Irbid returned 117 questionnaires. The questionnaires used the Parenting Stress Index – Short Form (PSI–SF) and the Brief COPE, the two most widely-used inventories in the literature. The results showed differences between the three groups as parents of autistic children showed the highest level of stress, and the parents of Down syndrome children showed the lowest. The differences in levels of stress were not significant between parents of children with Down syndrome and those with typically developed children. Parents of the three groups mostly used religion in order to cope. This study did not reveal any relationship between demographical data and total level of stress among parents.