Burnout, Anxiety and Coping Attitudes in Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Objective: In this study, the relationship between burnout level, anxiety and coping attitudes of parents with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was examined together with demographic variables. Methods: Relational model was used in the research. The research was conducted with the parents of 180 children diagnosed with ASD. Data were obtained using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and the Coping Attitudes Rating Scale (COPE). T Test, One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Pearson correlation analysis were used in the analysis of the data. Results: In the research findings, it was observed that the burnout level of the parents differed according to the age groups of the autistic children, the number of siblings and the psychiatric disease history of the parents. In addition, it was observed that the anxiety level and coping methods of the parents differed significantly according to the psychiatric illness history of the parents. A strong positive correlation was found between parents' anxiety and burnout levels. A moderate positive relationship was also found between the emotional burnout levels of the parents and their coping levels. Conclusion: It was observed that the levels of anxiety and burnout were lower in parents who used the problem-focused coping method. In addition, it has been observed that parents overcome problems by using problem-focused coping methods and this situation affects their lives positively. In addition, it was observed that parents with high levels of anxiety and burnout used dysfunctional coping methods more.

Keywords:

Autism Spectrum Disorder, Diagnosis, Parents, Anxiety, Burnout Coping, Attitude,

PDF

___

Agyapong, B., Obuobi-Donkor, G., Burback, L., & Wei, Y. (2022). Stress, burnout, anxiety and depression among teachers: A scoping review. International Journal of Environmental Research Public Health, 19, 10706.
Ağargün, M. Y., Beşiroğlu, L., Kıran, Ü. K., Özer, Ö. A., & Kara, H. (2005). Coping Attitudes Evaluation Scale: A preliminary study on psychometric properties, Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry, 6, 221-226.
Akarsu, Ö., & Akgün Kostak M. (2021). Family burden and self-care skills of children with intellectual disability, life satisfaction of their mothers and the effective factors. International Anatolia Academic Online Journal, 8(2), 18-35
Al-Farsi, O., Al-Farsi, Y., Al-Sharbati, M., & Al-Adawi, S. (2016) Stress, anxiety, and depression among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in Oman: A case–control study. Neuropsychiatric Disease Treatment, 12, 1943-1951.
Al-Oran, H. M., & Al-Sagarat, A. Y. (2016). Parenting stress of children with autistic disorder. Open Access Library Journal, 3(7), 1–10.
Ang, K. Q. P., & Loh, P. R. (2019). Mental health and coping in parents of children with au-tism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Singapore: An examination of gender role in caring. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(5), 2129–2145.
Aydemir, H., Diken, İ. H., Yıkmış, A., Aksoy, V., & Özokçu, O. (2014). examination of burnout levels and life satisfaction of teachers working in the field of special education. Abant İzzet Baysal University Journal of the Faculty of Education, 15(Special Issue), 68-86
Batu, E. S. (2011). Children Aged 0-6 with Down Syndrome and Their Development, Kök Yayıncılık. ISBN: 9789754994957
Beck, A. T., Epstein, N., Brown, G., & Steer, R. A. (1988). An inventory for measuring clinical anxiety: Psychometric properties. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56(6), 893-897.
Benderix, Y., Nordstrom, B., & Sivberg, B. (2006). Parents’ experience of having a child with autism and learning disabilities living in a group home: A case study. Autism, 10(6), 629-640.
Benson, P. R. (2006). The impact of child symptom severity on depressed mood among parents of children with ASD: The mediating role of stres proliferation. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, 685-695.
Benson, P. R., & Karlof, K.L. (2009). Anger, stres proliferation, and depressed mood among parents of children with ASD: A longitudinal replication. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39, 350-362.
Benson, P. R., & Kersh, J. (2011). Marital quality and psychological adjustment among mothers of children with ASD: cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41(12), 1675-1685.
Bumin, G. T., Günal, A. T., & Tükel, Ş. T. (2008). Anxiety, depression and quality oflife in mothers of disabled children. Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Dergisi, 15(1), 6-11.
Büyüköztürk, Ş., Kılıç, E., Akgün, Ö. E., Karadeniz, Ş., & Demirel, F. (2022). Scientific Research Methods, Pegem Yayınevi. ISBN 978-9944-919-28-9
Cahit, N., Sakallı Demirok, M., & Direktör, C. (2017). determination of self-efficacy and burnout state of teachers working in the special education field in terms of different variables. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 5 (3), 160-166.
Cahit, N., & Tezer, M., (2018). The relationship between burnout and psychological resiliency levels of special education teachers in a developing economy. Quality and Quantity, 52(2), 1305-1317.
Carver, C. S., Scheier M. F., & Weintraub, J. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: a theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267-283.
Cidav, Z., Marcus, S. C., & Mandell, D.S. (2012). Implications of childhood autism for parental employment and earnings. Pediatrics, 129(4), 617-23.
Çandır, G. (2015). Investigation of the relationship between depression, anxiety, stress and coping attitudes in the mothers of children aged 4-24 years diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and down syndrome. Unpublished Master Thesis, Arel University, Institute of Social Sciences, İstanbul, 132p (in Turkish).
Dale, E., Jahoda, A., & Knott, F. (2006). Mothers’ attributions following their child’s diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder: exploring links with maternal levels of stress, depression and expectations about their child’s future. Autism, 10(5), 463-479.
Darıca, N., Arıboğan, Ü., & Gümüşçü, Ş. (2005). Autism and autistic children, Özgür Yayınları. ISBN:9789754471243
Davis, N. O., & Carter, A. S. (2008). Parenting stress in mothers and fathers of toddlers with autism spectrum disorders: associations with child characteristics. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(7), 1278-1291.
Dereli, F., & Okur, S. (2008). Determining the depression status of families with disabled children. New Medical Journal, 25, 164-168.
Dicle, A. N. (2012). The effect of motivational interviewing practices on coping attitudes of families with disabled children. Master Thesis, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Institute of Educational Sciences, Samsun, 197p (in Turkish).
Durukan, İ., Erdem, M., Tufan, A., & Türkbay, T. (2010). Coping attitudes of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder and their relationship with depression and anxiety levels, Journal of Child and Youth Mental Health, 17(2), 75-82.
Duygun, T., & Sezgin, N., (2003). The effects of stress symptoms, coping styles and perceived social support on the level of burnout in mothers of mentally retarded and healthy children. Turkish Journal of Psychology, 18(52), 53-55. Dyches, T. T., Christensen, R., Harper, J., Mandleco, B., & Roper, S., (2016). respite care for single mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 46(3), 812-824.
Ergin, C. (1992). Burnout in doctors and nurses and adaptation of Maslach Burnout Scale, p.22-25, 7th National psychology congress, 22 September, 1992, Ankara
Essex, E.L., Seltzer, M.M., & Krauss, M.W. (1999). Differences in coping effectiveness and well-being among aging mothers and fathers of adults with mental retardation. American Journal of Mental Retardation, 104(6), 545- 563.
Estes, A., Munson, J., Dawson, G., Koehler, E., Zhou, X. H., & Abbott, R. (2009). Parenting stress and psychological functioning among mothers of preschool children with autism and developmental delay. Autism, 13(4), 375-387.
Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, M.W. (1985). Personality and Individual Differences: A Natural Science Approach. Plenum, New York.
Falk, N., Norris, K., & Quinn, M. G. (2014). The factors predicting stres, anxiety anddepression in the parents of children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(12), 3185-3203. Firth, I., & Dryer, R. (2013). The predictors of distres in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Intellectual Development Disabilities, 38, 163-171.
Hall, H. R., & Graff, J. C. (2010). Parenting challenges in families of children with autism: A pilot study. Issues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing, 33(4), 187-204.
Harris, S. L. (1994). Treatment of family problems in autism. In E. Schopler & G. B. Mesibov (Eds.), Behavioral Issues in Autism (1st ed., pp. 161-175). Plenum
Hastings, R. P., & Brown, T. (2002). Behavior problems of children with autism, parental self-efficacy, and mental health. American Journal of Mental Retardation, 107(3), 222-232.
Hastings, R. P., Kovshoff, H., Ward, N. J., Espinosa, F. D., Brown, T., & Remington, B. (2005). Systems analysis of stress and positive perceptions in mothers and fathers of pre-school children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35(5), 635-644.
Hayes, S. A., & Watson, S. L. (2013). The impact of parenting stress: A meta-analysis of studies comparing the experience of parenting stress in parents of children with and without autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43(3), 629-642.
Işıkhan, V. (2005). Problems of mothers with mentally handicapped children in Turkey, Hacettepe University Publications.
Kaminski, J., Valle, J., Filene, J., & Boyle, C. (2008). A meta-analytic review of components associated with parent training program effectiveness. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 36(4), 567-589.
Kim, I., Ekas, N. V., & Hock, R. (2016). Associations between child behavior problems, family management, and depressive symptoms for mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 26, 80-90.
Lecavalier, L., Leone, S., & Wiltz, J. (2006). Theimpact of behavior problems on caregiver stress in young people with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 50(3), 172-183.
Lee, L. C., Harrington, R. A., Louie, B. B., & Newschaffer, C. J. (2008). Children with autism: Quality of life and parental concerns. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(6), 1147-1160.
Lyons, A. M., Leon, S. C., Roecker Phelps, C. A. & Dunleavy, A. M. (2010). The impact of child symptom severity on stress among parents of children with ASD: The moderating role of coping styles. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19, 516-524.
Machado, S. B. J., Celestino, M. I. O., Serra, J. P. C., Caron, J., & Pondé, M .P. (2016). Risk and protective factors for symptoms of anxiety and depression in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. Developmental Neurorehabilition, 19(3), 146-153.
Marcus, L. M., Kunce, L. J., & Schopler, E. (1997). Working with families. In D. J. Cohen & F. R. Volkmar (Eds.) Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders (1st ed., pp. 631-649). John Wiley & Sons.
Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 2, 99-113.
Mcstay, R. L., Dissanayake, C., Scheeren, A., Koot, H. M., & Begeer, S. (2014). Parenting stress and autism: The role of age, autism severity, quality of life and problem behaviour of children and adolescents with autism. Autism, 18(5), 502–510.
Montes, G., & Halterman, J. S. (2016). Pyschological functioning and coping among mothers of children with autism: A population-based study. Pediatrics, 119(9), 1040-1046.
Mulligan, J., MacCulloch, R., Good, B., & Nicholas, D. B. (2012). Transparency, hope, and empowerment: a model for partnering with parents of a child with autism spectrum disorder at diagnosis and beyond. Social Work in Mental Health, 10(4), 311-330.
Nealy, C. E., O'Hare, L., Powers, J. D., & Swick, D. C. (2012). The impact of autism spectrum disorders on the family: A qualitative study of mothers' perspectives. Journal of Family Social Work, 15(3), 187-201.
Norton, P., & Drew, C. (1994). Autism and potential family stressors. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 22(1), 67-75.
Nuri C., Rustioglu O., & Piskin Abidoglu U. (2018). The problems of the families who have autistic children: A qualitative research. Life Skills Journal of Psychology, 2(3), 97- 111.
Ooi, K. L., Ong, Y. S., Jacob, S. A., & Khan, T. M. (2016). A meta-synthesis on parenting a child with autism. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 12, 745-762.
Ou, W. X., Cha, C. H., & Wang, L. H. (2010). Mental health state of parents of children with autism. Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics, 12(12), 947-949. Park, E. Y., & Shin, M. (2020). A Meta-Analysis of special education teachers’ burnout. SAGE, 1-18.
Poslawsky, I. E., Naber, F. B., Van Daalen, E., & Van Engeland, E. (2013). Parental reaction to early diagnosis of their children’s autism spectrum disorder: An exploratory study. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 45(3), 294-305.
Roxana, U. I., & Carmen, A. (2020). Dimensions of relationships of students with intellectual disabilities. International Journal of Special Education and Information Technology, 6(1), 48-60.
Sariçam, H., & Sakiz, H. (2014). Burnout and teacher self-efficacy among teachers working in special education institutions in Turkey. Educational Studies, 40, 423–437.
Scherer, N., Verhey, I., & Kuper, H. (2019). Depression and anxiety in parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A systematic review and metaanalysis. PLoS One, 14(7).
Seltzer, M. M., Greenberg, J. S., & Krauss, M. W. (1995). A comparison of coping strategies of aging mothers of adults with mental illness or mental retardation. Psychol Aging, 10(1), 64-75.
Senthilnathan, S. (2017). Relationships and Hypotheses in Social Science Research. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Sivberg, B. (2002). Coping strategies and parental attitudes, a comparison of parents with children with autistic spectrum disorders and parents with non-autistic children. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 61(2), 36-50.
Stambekova, A., Shmidt, M., T., Galieva, A., Kydyrbaeva, G., Yerzhanova, G., & Issabayeva, Z. (2021). Opinions of disabled university students on the distance education process. World Journal on Educational Technology: Current Issues, 13(4), 1124-1136.
Şahin, Z, B. (2017). Examination of the relationship between burnout symptoms and coping strategies in mothers of children diagnosed with autism or specific learning difficulties. Unpublished Master Thesis, Haliç University, Institute of Social Sciences, İstanbul, 104p (in Turkish).
Şengül, S. T., & Baykan, H. T. (2013). Attitudes of coping with depression, anxiety and stress in mothers of mentally retarded children, Kocatepe Medical Journal, 14(1), 30-39.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using Multivariate Statistics (6th edition). Allyn and Bacon.
Tahincioğlu, C. (2016). The relationship between anxiety levels and burnout in mothers with children with autism. Unpublished Master Thesis, Beykent University, Institute of Social Sciences, İstanbul, 85p (in Turkish).
Tenerife, J. J. L., Peteros, E., Englatera, J. D., de Vera, J. V., Pinili, L. C., & Fulgencio, M. D. (2022). Exploring predictors of adaptive behaviour of children with autism. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences, 17(3), 772-786. Uğuz, Ş., Toros, F., İnanç, B.Y., & Çolakkadıoğlu, O. (2004). Determination of anxiety, depression and stress levels of mothers of mentally and/or physically handicapped children. Clinical Psychiatry, 7, 42-47.
Ulusoy, M., Şahin, N. H., & Erkmen, H. (1998). Turkish version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory: Psychometric properties. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 12, 163-172.
Üstüner Top, F. (2009). Evaluation of the problems and mental states of families with autistic children: Qualitative research. Journal of Child, 9(1), 34-42.
Varol, N. (2005). Family Education. Kök Yayıncılık. ISBN: 9789754993011.
Vohra, R., Madhavan, S., Sambamoorthi, U., & St Peter, C. (2014). Access to services, quality of care, and family impact for children with autism, other developmental disabilities, and other mental health conditions. Autism, 18(7), 815-26.
Woodgate, R. L., Ateah, C., & Secco, L. (2008). Living in a world of our own: the experience of parents who have a child with autism. Qualitative Health Research, 18(8), 1075-1083.