Self-reported health and cortisol awakening response in parents of people with asperger syndrome: The role of trait anger and anxiety, coping and burden

Abstract

Caring for offspring with autism spectrum disorders entails high levels of stress for a long period of time and is associated with several types of health complaints. Few studies have focused on specific effects of particular disorders in the spectrum. This study was carried out with the aim of evaluating the global health of parents of people with Asperger syndrome (N = 53) compared to those of typically developing children (N = 54) through self-reported measures (medication consumption and somatic symptoms) and biological markers (cortisol awakening response [CAR]). Additionally, we analysed various psychological variables as potential predictors of caregiver health. We found that caregivers take more medication and have worse self-reported health than controls, but there were no significant differences in CAR between the groups. However, after controlling for negative affect, differences between groups in CAR reached significance. With regards to predictor variables, anxiety trait, cognitive-coping style, burden and anger temperament were significantly associated with caregiver’s self-reported health. These findings underline the need to develop interventions that foster improvements in the health of caregivers, reduce their burden and enhance their quality of life.

Keywords:

• family caregivers
• ASPERGER syndrome
• health
• cortisol awakening response

Acknowledgements

This study was financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PSI2008-0448/PSIC) and the Committee for Business, Research, and Science of the Regional Government of Valencia (ACOMP/2010/250 & PROMETEO/2011/048).