Demographic, ecological and social predictors of quality of life among parents of autistic children: A multi-centre cross-sectional study.
Young, ill, or female caregivers of autistic children report the poorest quality of life and need first-in-line support.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Al-Janabi et al. (2025) asked 248 Iraqi parents how they feel about life. The team used a paper survey in three cities. They looked at age, sex, health, and child traits to see who hurts most.
What they found
Mothers scored lower than fathers. Young parents scored lower than older ones. Parents with long-term illness scored lower. Parents of girls or kids with extra diagnoses also scored lower.
How this fits with other research
Musetti et al. (2024) asked the same kind of survey and found parents feel better when kids show fewer problem behaviors. Both studies used surveys and QoL scales, so the results stack.
Melegari et al. (2025) zoomed in on child problems. They found sleep issues hurt QoL for little kids, while conduct issues hurt QoL for big kids. Abdoun shows the parent side: younger moms already run low, so the same child problems hit them harder.
Kheir et al. (2012) in Qatar saw caregiver health drop, but overall QoL stayed flat. Abdoun now shows health and QoL both drop. The gap is time and tools: Nadir used a short form; Abdoun used a fuller scale.
Why it matters
You can spot the highest-risk parents on intake. If the parent is a young mother, has diabetes, or raises a daughter with seizures, move her to the top of the support list. Offer respite, sleep training, or chronic-care referrals right away. A five-minute screen saves months of burnout.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Parents experience lower quality of life due to the psychological, financial and social challenges of caring for an autistic child. This study aims to identify the independent demographic and social predictors of parents' quality of life, to allocate support to parents who truly need it. Al-Subtain Academy and Baghdad's National Center for Autism recruited 248 parents in a cross-sectional study from 3 January to 13 September 2024. Demographics, quality of life and social support were assessed using a structured self-administered questionnaire. Multiple linear regression models were significant for all domains except role functioning (p = 0.258). The explained variance ranged from 50.8% for health perception to 19.5% for physical functioning. Mothers reported lower health perception and physical functioning than fathers (p = 0.015, p < 0.001). Parents with chronic condition also reported lower health perception, mental health, social functioning and higher pain scores (p-values: <0.001, 0.029, 0.023, 0.014). In addition, parents of female children and those with comorbidities reported lower mental health (p-values: 0.018, 0.004). Marital satisfaction was positively associated with all domains except pain (negative association) and physical/role functioning (no association). In conclusion, mothers, younger parents, parents with chronic conditions or female children, or whose children have comorbidities should be prioritised during interventions that promote family functioning and social support.Lay AbstractParents can face emotional and social challenges when taking care of autistic children, which can lower their quality of life. These challenges do not affect all parents in the same way. That is why we need to find out which parents are having more trouble, so that we can give more support to those who need it the most. Our goal was to identify which background and social factors are linked to lower quality of life in parents of autistic children. First, we found that parents of autistic children have lower mental and social well-being than physical quality of life. We argued that the type of challenges faced by parents might be the cause. We also detected lower quality of life among mothers, younger parents, parents with long-term conditions or autistic daughters, or whose children have other conditions besides autism. Finally, we found that marital satisfaction was the most important element in social support. Marital satisfaction is linked to a better quality of life in all areas except being able to do normal daily tasks and physical activities.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2025 · doi:10.1177/13623613251334166