How Might Comorbid Conditions Co-occurring With Child Autism Impact Parenting Stress?
Social support and active coping steadily lower parenting stress in moms of young kids with autism.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team followed moms of preschool kids with autism for two years. They asked how child behavior, family life, coping style, and social support shaped parenting stress over time.
No treatment was given. Moms simply filled out the same surveys at diagnosis and again two years later.
What they found
Stress stayed high when families fought, kids acted out, or moms used disengaged coping like giving up.
Stress dropped when moms had people to lean on and used active coping like problem solving. These patterns held from day one to the final check-in.
How this fits with other research
Benson (2018) watched moms for 12 years and saw stress eat away at their own health. Miezah et al. (2026) now show the same stress path can be slowed if moms get support and use active coping.
Drogomyretska et al. (2020) found friend support cut stress in a big one-time survey. The new study proves that friendly backup keeps working two years later.
Cai et al. (2020) showed avoidant coping raises anxiety and depression. Daniel’s team match that result: disengaged coping raises long-term parenting stress, while active coping lowers it.
Why it matters
You can’t erase autism, but you can shrink the fallout. Add a five-minute check on mom’s support circle to every parent meeting. Teach one active coping skill—like breaking a problem into steps—before you close session. These small moves may protect her health for years.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study examined the longitudinal associations between child behavior problems, coping strategies, social resources, and parenting stress in mothers of young children with autism spectrum disorder. Participants were 283 mothers who completed self- and child-report measures at the time of diagnosis and 2 years later. Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to predict overall parenting stress. At diagnosis, the final model indicated that high levels of social support and mothers' use of active engaged coping strategies were associated with lower levels of parenting stress. Conversely, high levels of child externalizing behavior problems, family dysfunction, and mothers' use of disengaged coping strategies were associated with higher parenting stress. Two years later, high levels of parenting stress at diagnosis predicted increased parenting stress. In addition, high or increasing levels of social support predicted a decrease in parenting stress, while high or increasing levels of family dysfunction predicted increased stress. Finally, increased use of disengaged coping strategies and decreased use of active coping strategies over time predicted higher levels of parenting stress. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the provision of targeted supports that are designed to enhance the personal and social resources available to mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2026 · doi:10.1177/1362361316633033