Stress Level and the Use of Coping Strategies of Parents of Autistic Children

Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that as a consequence has high physical, psychic and economic demand from parents. Objective: To determine the association between the level of stress and the use of coping strategies of parents of autistic children of the ARIE Villa El Salvador institute. Methods: Quantitative observational analytical study. Two surveys were used: the Parental Stress Questionnaire, modified Spanish version CEP (PSI-SF) and the abbreviated Multidimensional Coping Styles Assessment Scale Questionnaire. Results: A total of 103 parents were surveyed. The level of medium-high stress was 93.14%. Of the coping strategies; strategy A the strategy with the highest mean was planning (10.81 points), of strategy B the strategy with the highest mean was positive reinterpretation and growth (11.22 points), and of strategy C the strategy with the highest mean was mental disconnection (7.53 points). A positive correlation (0.86) was found between the level of stress and the coping test. In the multiple regression it was observed that the level of stress increases 0.81 points (95%CI: 0.718-0.909; p<0.001) for each point that the coping test increases. Furthermore, we found a strength of association between the two of 0.7402. Conclusions: There is an association between stress level and stress coping in parents. The strategies with the highest scores were planning, positive reinterpretation and growth, and mental disconnection.