Abstract
Published research on mothers of children with autism has failed to differentiate between stressors and stress responses. The objective of the present study was to examine the structure of stressors in mothers of preschool children with autism. Mothers of children with autism (N=115) and mothers of children with other disabilities (N=115) were asked to complete questionnaires about stressors and stress responses. Factor analysis revealed 4 reliable stressor dimensions: problematic behaviors, lack of social support, lack of attachment behavior in the children, and the participants' perceived lack of confidence as mothers. These 4 stressor dimensions were significantly related to the mothers' stress responses. The mothers of the children with autism showed significantly higher scores on specific stressors, i.e., problematic behaviors and lack of attachment behavior in their children, than did the mothers of the preschool children with other disabilities. The differences between the two groups of mothers in lack of social support and lack of confidence as mothers were not significant. The mothers of children with autism also showed higher stress responses than did the mothers of children with other disabilities.
