Well-Being in a Novel Cultural Milieu: Examining the Well-Being of Mothers of Children with Autism in Lebanon

Background: Research in the Western world has shown that mothers of children with autism typically display lower levels of well-being compared to mothers of typically developing children and children with other disabilities (Hastings, 2008). Multiple factors affect such decreased well-being, the coping style used plays a critical role in the well-being of mothers of children with autism (Benson, 2008). Across cultures, social support has been regarded as an essential buffer in the face of stress (Benson, 2010). Compared to all other symptoms in autism, behavioral symptoms are mostly associated with decreased well-being levels (Lin et al., 2010). Lebanon is a country where parents of children with autism do not receive adequate financial or educational support from the government, additionally, stigma for the disabled and their families remains high in the population. Thus, parents need to rely on their surroundings and their own financial status to take care of their child with a disability, which can be very costly.

Objectives: This study examined the extent to which coping style, child’s behavioral problems, and perceived social support impact the well-being of mothers of children with autism in Lebanese mothers, thus making this study a first of its kind in the region. The well-being of mothers of children with autism was also compared to that of mothers of children without an autism diagnosis in this novel cultural milieu.

Methods:  A total of 161 mothers took part in this study. The sample consisted of 65 mothers of children with autism and 98 mothers of children without autism. All mothers of children with autism answered questionnaires related to coping strategies they use while dealing with their child’s diagnosis, their child’s level of behavioral problems, their perceived social support, and their overall well-being. Mothers in the non-autism group only responded to questionnaires related to their well-being.

Results:  Results of multiple regression analyses showed that disengagement and distraction coping were the only variables that predicted well-being among mothers of children with autism. In terms of correlational analyses, Cognitive reframing, disengagement and distraction coping, in addition to the child’s behavioral problems, were all correlated with well-being. Social support variables did not correlate with well-being in this sample. Finally, significant differences in well-being were observed between mothers of children with autism and mothers of children without an autism diagnosis.

Conclusions:  Individual and cultural differences play a critical role in how parents respond to challenges related to their child’s diagnosis. This study showed that the effects of engagement, distraction,and cognitive reframing in a Lebanese sample paralleled research conducted in the Western world. The majority of mothers reported using problem-focused coping strategies more than emotion-focused strategies, which were found to predict well-being. The most unexpected finding of the present study was that perceived social support did not significantly predict well-being. This is inconsistent with what the literature has reported regarding social support variables in multiple cultures (Lin et al., 2010),this might be due to the fact that social support while raising any child is a given in most families in Lebanon.