Effects of temperament, symptom severity and level of functioning on maternal stress in Greek children and youth with ASD.
Mom stress spikes when kids are hyper, moody, and non-verbal—watch these traits to target caregiver support fast.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Konstantareas et al. (2006) asked Greek mothers about stress. They looked at child temperament, autism severity, and daily living skills.
The sample mixed ages. Mothers rated how active, moody, or adaptable their kids were.
What they found
High activity and low mood in the child raised mom's stress the most. Non-verbal children added extra strain.
Autism severity mattered, but temperament traits tipped the scale.
How this fits with other research
Giovagnoli et al. (2015) and O'Dwyer et al. (2018) echo the result: child behavior problems beat autism severity at predicting stress.
Scibelli et al. (2021) extends the idea to teens. They show cognitive delays and emotional problems eclipse core autism symptoms, matching the Greek focus on mood and activity.
Koegel et al. (2014) seems to clash at first. They found steady maternal stress from preschool to adolescence, while Mary et al. link stress to child traits. The difference is design: L tracked the same moms over years and saw no age effect, whereas Mary captured a single snapshot showing trait impact at any age.
Why it matters
Screen for high activity, low mood, and language level first. These flags tell you which moms need the most support today, regardless of the child's age. Add behavior-skills training or respite referrals for those families first.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add a quick temperament checklist to your intake and flag high activity plus low mood for priority parent support.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study examined the effect of child temperament, symptom severity, verbal ability and level of functioning on maternal stress in 43 Greek mothers of children and young people with autism spectrum disorder. Symptom severity was assessed by the CARS, level of functioning by the PEP, temperament by the Dimensions of Temperament Scale (DOTS-R) and maternal stress by the Clarke Modification of Holroyd's Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (QRS). Lower-functioning children and those with high activity level, low flexibility and low mood scores were perceived to be more stressful. Counter to expectation, children with ASD who were rated high on rhythmicity and task orientation were perceived as more stressful. Best predictors of maternal stress were high activity level, low mood and high symptom severity. Mothers of non-verbal children were more stressed than those of verbal. The relevance of child temperament for understanding maternal stress is discussed with particular relevance to the Greek culture and available supports.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2006 · doi:10.1177/1362361306068511