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Comparing parental stress of children with neurodevelopmental disorders: The case of Williams syndrome, Down syndrome and autism spectrum disorders
Author(s) -
Ashworth Maria,
Palikara Olympia,
Van Herwegen Jo
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1468-3148
pISSN - 1360-2322
DOI - 10.1111/jar.12594
Subject(s) - autism , williams syndrome , psychology , autism spectrum disorder , psychological intervention , clinical psychology , stress (linguistics) , down syndrome , developmental psychology , psychiatry , cognition , linguistics , philosophy
Background Although parental stress is higher for children with neurodevelopmental disorders ( ND s), it is unclear how this stress compares to more common ND s. The current study compared stress in parents of children with Williams syndrome ( WS ), Down syndrome ( DS ) and autism spectrum disorders ( ASD ). The impact of individual and contextual factors was also explored. Method Parents of children with WS ( n = 107), DS ( n = 79) and ASD ( n = 79) completed a background questionnaire, a parental stress questionnaire and a satisfaction with life questionnaire. Results Although all groups displayed similar levels of parental stress, the factors that influenced this stress differed between the groups. There were also differences for life satisfaction and relationships between parental stress and individual and contextual factors. Conclusions Although parents of children with ND s are not at an increased risk of parental stress, the results suggest that interventions should be syndrome‐specific.