Relationship between perceived limit-setting abilities, autism spectrum disorder severity, behaviour problems and parenting stress in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder.
High parenting stress makes moms judge other parents’ limit-setting more harshly, so double-check parent ratings when stress is high.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Reed et al. (2017) asked 93 moms of kids with autism to rate how well other parents set limits.
The moms also filled out a parenting-stress scale. The team then checked if higher stress went hand-in-hand with harsher ratings of other parents’ skills.
What they found
Moms who scored high on parenting stress gave lower marks to other parents’ limit-setting.
Stress did not change how the moms saw their own child’s autism traits; it only colored their view of other parents’ discipline style.
How this fits with other research
Lord et al. (1997) saw the same stress-tinted lens twenty years earlier: parents under strain viewed their preschoolers as harder to manage and those kids showed less social spark.
Lecavalier et al. (2006) add that child conduct problems are the main fuel for caregiver stress, so the bias Phil et al. found likely grows when kids act out most.
Together the three studies trace a loop: tough behavior raises parent stress, and stress then warps how parents judge others’ discipline.
Why it matters
Before you trust parent-rated skill checklists, ask how stressed the rater is. A burned-out mom may score another parent’s limit-setting low even when the skills are fine. Build in second observers or video review, and pair parent training with stress-reduction steps like brief respite or mindfulness breaks.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Parenting stress in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is high and impacts perceptions about parenting. This study examined the relationship between parenting stress and observer-perceived limit-setting ability. Participants' perceptions of other parents' limit-setting ability were assessed by showing participants video clips of parenting behaviours. Mothers of 93 children with autism spectrum disorder completed an online survey regarding the severity of their own child's autism spectrum disorder (Social Communication Questionnaire), their child's behaviour problems (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) and their own levels of parenting stress (Questionnaire on Resources and Stress). They were shown five videos of other parents interacting with children with autism spectrum disorder and were asked to rate the limit-setting abilities observed in each video using the Parent-Child Relationship Inventory. Higher parenting stress negatively related to judgements about others' limit-setting skills. This mirrors the literature regarding the relationship between self-reported parenting stress and rating child behaviour more negatively. It suggests that stress negatively impacts a wide range of judgements and implies that caution may be required when interpreting the results of studies in which parenting skills are assessed by self-report.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2017 · doi:10.1177/1362361316658775