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ABSTRACT
The aim of this research was to compare parental stress, coping strategies and social support perceived in families of children with low functioning autism (n = 8), high functioning autism (n = 10), Down syndrome (n = 12) and parents of typically developing children (n = 20). Specifically, the objective was to investigate which variables (coping strategies and perception of social support available) might better predict different stress outcomes in the four groups. Parents were asked to fill in three questionnaires: Parent Stress Index, Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced and Social Support Questionnaire. Significant differences among groups in all of the variables considered were found. These results suggest the advisability of fostering functional coping strategies and social support received in families of children with disabilities, and especially in those with children with low functioning autism.
Authors’ contributions
F. Cuzzocrea assisted with the concept, study design, data analysis and generation of the initial draft of this manuscript. A. M. Murdaca and P. Filippello assisted with manuscript preparation and interpretation and manuscript editing. S. Costa assisted with scoring data and data analysis and with the final version of the manuscript. R. Larcan assisted with the concept, manuscript preparation and editing and study supervision. All authors take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. All authors contributed to and have approved the final manuscript.
ORCID
Francesca Cuzzocrea http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3527-2386
Anna Maria Murdaca http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7484-8309
Sebastiano Costa http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2392-6039
Pina Filippello http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9327-0119
Rosalba Larcan http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9908-1650