Relationships Between Aberrant Behavior in Children with ASD and Maternal Parent Stress Over Four Years

Background: Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) often experience significant stress related to their children's behaviour (Herring, Gray, Taffe, Sweeney & Einfeld, 2006). Typically, “autistic behaviours” such as aloneness and repetitive behaviours are the focus of early intervention. However, these may not be the primary sources of stress experienced by caregivers.

Objectives: This study examined relationships between parent stress and child aberrant behaviour at three time points: at the onset of and exit from early intervention, and after the children attended school for 1-2 years.

Methods: Sixty-five children with ASD were assessed 6 months following the initiation of early intervention (T1), at intervention termination around 18 months later (T2), and 28 months afterward (T3). At T1, children's mean CA was 56 months and 73% were from two-parent families; 83% were males and 53% were European-Canadian. Maternal parenting stress was measured with the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) and child behaviour problems were assessed using the Temperament and Aberrant Behavior Scale (TABS). Negative life events (via the Family Inventory of Life Events, FILE), total social supports (via the Inventory of Social Supports, ISS), and parent coping style (via the Family-Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales, F-COPES) were also measured. At all three time points, Pearson correlations were calculated between PSI subscales, FILE weighted life event total scores, ISS total scores, and F-COPES coping style subscales. Variables that were correlated with the PSI were then used as controls in partial correlations between PSI subscales and TABS subscales at T1, T2, and T3.

Results: At T1, F-COPES Passive Appraisal (PA) scores were significantly correlated with two subscales in the PSI. With PA partialled out, the TABS Detached and Hypersensitive/Active subscales were significantly correlated with the PSI Difficult Child subscale (r=.36 and .55, respectively). At T2, FILE life events and ISS Total Support scores were significantly correlated with one PSI subscale. With these variables controlled, the TABS Hypersensitive/active subscale was significantly correlated with the PSI Difficult Child subscale (r=.88). The PSI Parent-Child Dysfunctional interaction subscale was also significantly correlated with the TABS Hypersensitive/active subscale (r=.63). At T3, F-COPES Acquiring Social Support (ASS) scores were significantly correlated with the PSI Parental Distress and Difficult Child subscales. With ASS controlled, the PSI Parental Distress subscale was significantly correlated with the TABS Dysregulated subscale (r=.49).

Conclusions: Results indicate that, early in intervention, behaviours in the TABS Detached subscale (e.g., aloneness, stereotypy) and the TABS Hypersensitive/active subscale (e.g., tantrums, irritability) were both related to parental stress. However, as children aged, only behaviours in the latter subscale continued to be related to parental stress, when other sources of stress were controlled. Finally, by age 8.5, Dysregulated behaviours (e.g., excessive crying, sleep disturbances) were the only behavioural subset that continued to be associated with parent stress. This suggests that, beyond the initial stages of intervention, autistic symptomatology may not be the primary source of stress for parents. Service providers should develop targeted interventions to decrease Hypersensitive/active and Dysregulated behaviours when amelioration of parental stress is a goal.