Stress Assessment in Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Prospective Case-Control Study.

Background:  Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a disorder that is manageable but has no cure. Therefore, it is associated with parental stress, which is often not given importance. Early identification and holistic management of children with ASD are needed.
Methods: This prospective case-control study, conducted over 18 months, included 111 newly diagnosed autism cases (ages 2-9) from the Child Development Clinic at Shri Mahant Indiresh Hospital, Dehradun, India, diagnosed as per the International Clinical Epidemiology Network (INCLEN) criteria (DSM-V). Controls were 99 typically developing children from a well-baby clinic. Data collection involved administering the Autism Parenting Stress Scale and a predesigned questionnaire to both cases and controls. Parents with psychiatric or mental health issues were excluded.
Results: Parents of children with autism exhibited significantly higher stress scores compared to parents of typically developing children. In our study, out of a total of 210 subjects, 52.9% were diagnosed with autism, while 47.1% were controls. Cases were analyzed based on household and socioeconomic background. It was found that 94.6% of the cases showed significant stress levels.
Conclusion: ASD significantly impacts parental stress, particularly among families from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and metropolitan areas. This study emphasizes the need for targeted support and interventions to address elevated stress levels and improve family dynamics, especially for parents of higher-functioning children.
Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences Institutional Ethics Committee issued approval SGRR/IEC/66/21. This approval has been granted on the assumption that the proposed research work will be carried out in accordance with the ethical guidelines prescribed by the Central Ethics Committee on Human Research (CECHR). Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.
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