Depression, anxiety, stress and parental behaviour among parents with Autism Spectrum Disorder / Noor Hafizah Abdullah

Parents of children with ASD have been reported to experience higher parenting stress and more depression and anxiety symptoms compared to parents of typically developing children or children with other developmental disabilities. This study examined parent's depression, anxiety and stress and parental behaviour in parents of children with ASD. When considering parenting style towards ASD children, it is important to take note how parents' psychological symptoms, such as depression, anxiety and stress may influence their parenting behaviours. A cross-sectional study design and a purposive sampling strategy was conducted on 71 parents of children with ASD. The depression, anxiety and stress level data was obtained from survey questionnaire using Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) and for data that describe about pattern of parental behaviours using The Parental Acceptance Rejection Questionnaire-Short Form (PARQ-SF)- Malay version. The data was analyse to evaluate and identify parents' psychological symptoms such as depression anxiety and stress may influence their parenting behaviour to the planning and implementation of successful occupational therapy intervention. Result of analyses revealed that parents of ASD child showed higher levels of anxiety and depression compare to the normal population mothers have been shown to suffer higher levels of anxiety and depression than fathers of children with autism. There was a medium, negative correlation between age and depression, stress and anxiety. Majority of the parents used coldness/lack of affection approach in their parenting style (62%, n=44). - Understanding psychological well-being that impact parenting can guide the development of interventions better tailored to support the needs of parents, particularly parents of children with ASD.