Exploring Parental Stress And Sleep Deprivation In Parents Of Children With And Without Autism
Year: 2019
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The main aim of this study was to explore and assess parental stress and sleep deprivation in parents of children with (N=228) and without autism (N=111), and to investigate if factors such as the Childs language ( verbal/non-verbal) and behaviour (challenging behaviour/no challenging behaviour) had an impact on parental stress and sleep within the population of parents of children with autism. Questionnaires were distrusted online which consisted of 3 scales, The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) measuring stress levels, the Pittsburgh Sleep quality (PSQI), and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) in order to measure sleep deprivation. Demographics questions on the child’s language and behaviour were asked as a parental report measure. Results from correlation analysis and independent t-tests found that parents of children with autism reported higher levels of stress, higher levels of daytime sleepiness, and poorer levels of sleep quality than parents of children without autism. Parental Stress and Sleep deprivation were associated with one another, Parents of children with autism who display challenging behaviours reported higher levels of stress than parents of children with no challenging behaviours, Parenting a child with autism who is verbal/nonverbal had no significant difference in parental stress, and lastly Parents of children who have autism that also have reported challenging behaviour had no significant impact on daytime sleepiness in parents.
Source: NORMA
Author: Leah O'Reilly
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2947656190