Relationship Between Self-Reported Health and Stress in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
For moms of kids with ASD, everyday life stress drags down both mind and body harder than autism-only stress.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Reed et al. (2016) asked moms of kids with autism to fill out a short survey.
The survey split stress into two buckets: everyday life stress and parenting-only stress.
Moms also rated their quality of life and listed any physical symptoms they felt.
What they found
Higher everyday stress predicted both lower quality of life and more body aches or illness.
Parenting-only stress still hurt quality of life, but it did not predict physical symptoms.
In short, general life stress hits moms harder in the body than autism-specific stress.
How this fits with other research
Benson (2018) followed the same kind of moms for 12 years and saw health keep sliding downhill.
That long view extends Phil et al. by showing the stress-health link is not a one-time fluke.
Lai et al. (2015) used different survey tools but found the same direction: more stress, more depression.
Drogomyretska et al. (2020) adds a bright spot—friend support can shave points off stress, giving you a lever to help.
Why it matters
You already teach play skills and reduce problem behavior. Add one more target: mom’s everyday stress.
A five-minute check-in about sleep, work deadlines, or money worries can flag health risks early.
Pair that with linking her to a local parent Facebook group or coffee club—friend support lowers stress scores.
Healthier moms stay in therapy longer, so your client keeps making gains.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The current study explore the relationship between various forms of experienced stress (general stress and parenting stress) and both health-related quality of life (QoL) and reported physical health symptoms. One hundred and twenty-two mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder responded to an online survey included questionnaires on general stress, parenting stress, health-related QoL, and physical symptoms. The results suggested that perceived general stress as associated with both a reduced health-related QoL and more physical symptoms. However, parenting stress was only associated with a reduced health-related QoL, and not with physical health. These results are discussed in relation to the complex impact of prolonged and predictable parenting stress on the cortisol response and immune system.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2016 · doi:10.1007/s10803-015-2638-8