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ABSTRACT
This study explored potential predictors of psychological distress and moderators of the relation between parenting stress and psychological distress in mothers of children with pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs). Ninety-seven mothers of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders completed measures assessing children's functional impairment, parenting stress, number of social supports, satisfaction with social support, parenting sense of competence, number of coping strategies, and maternal psychological distress. Consistent with hypotheses, parenting competence and satisfaction with social support were negatively related to maternal distress. However, number of coping strategies and number of social supports were not significantly related to distress. Regression analyses revealed that number of social supports augmented, rather than moderated, the relation between a composite of children's functional impairment/parenting stress and maternal distress; no other variable significantly moderated this relation. Based on the findings, possible modifications to the existing stress-coping models are considered for mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders, and implications for service providers are discussed.