Coping strategies in mothers and fathers of preschool and school-age children with autism.

Hagopian et al. (2005) asked moms and dads of autistic kids to fill out a coping survey. The parents had children in preschool or elementary school.

The team wanted to see how many ways these parents cope and if moms differ from dads. They also checked if child age changed coping style.

Four clear coping styles showed up: active, avoidant, social-support, and positive-reframe. Moms and dads scored differently on two of them.

Child age did not matter. Preschool parents used the same styles as school-age parents.

Ang et al. (2019) later asked the same questions in Singapore. They found moms feel more stress than dads, and avoidant coping boosts depression in both. This extends P et al. by linking coping style to mental-health risk.

Wang et al. (2025) tracked the same parents for six months. Active coping raised both social support and resilience, especially for school-age kids. This successor study turns the 2005 snapshot into a cause-and-effect path.

Cramm et al. (2009) followed families for six years. Coping predicted later adjustment in dads, while personality mattered more for moms. The long view shows coping training may pay off longer for fathers.

You now have a four-style map you can hand to parents. Ask each parent to circle their top style. If you see avoidant coping, teach active or social-support skills. Target dads a bit more; the later studies show coping training sticks longer with them. Add couple exercises too—García-López et al. (2016) and Brillet et al. (2023) show one parent’s good coping lifts the other’s mood.