Care burden, coping styles and involvement in care in mothers of autistic children in pandemic of COVID-19.
Fateme Mohammad, Niloofar Sani, Khodayar Oshvandi and 7 others
PMID 35713227WHAT IT FOUND
During pandemic restrictions, mothers of autistic children reported high care burden while still being highly involved in their child's care; their coping strategies were moderate.
Family support should address burden and coping.
Key findings
01During pandemic restrictions, mothers' mean care burden score was 64.74 ± 2.57, mean coping score was 68.81 ± 2.76, and mean parental bonding score was 45.51 ± 1.88.
02Higher parental bonding was associated with higher care burden, while higher coping strategies were associated with lower care burden.
03Care burden was higher among employee mothers, mothers with 3 or more children, mothers of children aged 12 to 14, and mothers of children with low-functioning autism.
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What it does not show
The sample was a convenience sample of 110 mothers in Iran, so it may not represent other families. All data were self-reported by mothers during COVID-19 restrictions, and no fathers or other caregivers were included. The study measured associations at one time point, so it cannot show that burden causes poor coping or that support would reduce burden. 134 mothers were invited and 110 returned questionnaires, so some invited mothers did not respond. Children were limited to ages 6 to 16 with high or moderate autism performance, so findings do not apply to younger children, older children, or those with other disorders. The measured period was during 12 months involving coronavirus, and results may reflect pandemic-specific restrictions.
Declared interests
No conflict of interest is declared. Hamadan University of Medical Sciences funded the work.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that counselling or support reduced burden. This was a cross-sectional survey of mothers' self-reported associations, not a study that tested support.