Razali, Ahmad Abdul Jalil Mohd
(2017)
Parental stress and its associated factors among parents of autism spectrum disorder children in Kota Kinabalu Sabah.
Masters thesis, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Abstract
Background: Parenting an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) children had been
established to cause significant stress. Ascertaining its prevalence in local setting and
identifying the predictors for parental stress could be an important step in formulating a
practical intervention to avert a more disruptive psychological outcome.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to establish the prevalence of parental stress
among parents of ASD children, examine the factors associated with parental stress, and
examine the association between ASD specific characteristic and parental stress.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 103 parents with their ASD children
attending the Child Intervention and Enrichment Centre (CIEC), Hospital Mesra Bukit
Padang, Kota Kinabalu Sabah from August 2016 to October 2016. Parent’s whose child
was diagnosed with ASD according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental
Disorder, fifth edition (DSM-5) and fulfilled the selection criteria were included in to the
study. Parental stress was evaluated by means of Parental Stress Index-Short Form (PSISF).
ASD children’s severity was rated using Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS).
Sociodemographic characteristic for parents and their children were recorded in
Participant’s Data Sheet. The prevalence of parental stress was established using the
clinically significant cutoff score of PSI-SF (>90th percentile) while the association
between sociodemographic characteristic, ASD severity, and ASD specific characteristic
with parental stress were analysed using Multiple Linear Regression.Results: The prevalence of parental stress among parents of ASD children in CIEC, Kota
Kinabalu was 39.8%. Factors associated with parental stress were mothers (B=16.82,
p<0.001) and ASD severity (B=1.62, p<0.001). The ASD specific characteristic
predictors for parental stress in the study were ‘object use’ and ‘intellectual response’.
Conclusion: The prevalence of parental stress among ASD children’s parents in Kota
Kinabalu were relatively low. Mothers experience significant parental stress as compared
to fathers and ASD severity had a significant association with parental stress. ASD
children with deficit in ‘object use’ and ‘intellectual response’ would predict significant
stress in their parents. Intervention targeting at modifying these variables could improve
parental stress.
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