‘I am so fearful for him’: a mixed-methods exploration of stress among caregivers of Black children with autism

Abstract

Parenting stress is correlated with negative child and parent outcomes. Accurate parenting stress assessments are critical to inform appropriate service delivery. This study used mixed methods to identify stressors influencing parents of Black children with autism. Twenty-two parents of Black children with autism participated in individual interviews; 19 of these parents also completed the Parenting Stress Index (4th edition). While we found some consistency between our qualitative and quantitative findings, the Parenting Stress Index did not capture key stressors parents described in interviews, including cultural factors (e.g., perception of provider pushback due to race), challenges related to single parenting, and neighborhood violence. We detail recommendations for family-centered and culturally relevant efforts to assess and address parenting stress in this population.

Keywords:

• autism
• autism spectrum disorder
• Black
• African American
• parents
• parenting stress

Acknowledgements

We appreciate the caregivers who participated in this study, as well as service agencies and others who assisted us in recruitment. This study was funded by a Competitive Innovative Research Award from the University of Maryland School of Social Work.

Ethical approval

The University of Maryland Baltimore Institutional Review Board approved this study (HP-00065409). We obtained informed consent from all study participants.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.