Parenting stress and psychological functioning among mothers of preschool children with autism and developmental delay.

Estes et al. (2009) compared moms of preschoolers with autism to moms of kids with general developmental delay. They asked how often children showed problem behavior and how stressed the mothers felt.

The team used surveys and short interviews. They wanted to know which group felt more stress and whether child behavior was the main reason.

Mothers of children with autism reported higher stress and more personal distress than mothers of children with developmental delay.

In both groups, child problem behavior predicted mom's stress level. The link was even stronger in the developmental-delay group.

Laister et al. (2021) extends this idea. They showed that when preschoolers with autism gain social-communication skills after one year of ESDM teaching, their moms feel less stress. Treating child behavior really does lower maternal distress.

Miezah et al. (2026) also extends the finding. They tracked families for two years and saw that high social support and active coping lowered stress, while family conflict and child externalizing raised it. The child-to-mother pathway holds over time.

Laugeson et al. (2014) seems to contradict the target. In their UK cohort, maternal distress predicted later child behavior problems, not the other way around. The difference is age range and study design: they looked at infants through preschoolers and ran the analysis backward.

Child behavior is the lever you can pull. When you reduce problem behavior or build social-communication skills, you directly lighten the mother's load. Add parent coaching, social support, and depression screening to every ABA plan. The payoff is a calmer mom, a more stable home, and better outcomes for the child.