Stress Factors in Parents of Autistic Children: An Umbrella Review

Parents of autistic children are more prone to high levels of stress in their daily lives. This umbrella review synthesises evidence from 41 reviews on stressors parents face at micro-, meso-, and macrolevels. At microlevel, common stressors included children’s distress behaviours, autism characteristics, child-parent dependency, and parent’s worries and characteristics. At mesolevel, financial, marital, sibling, and community issues (e.g., stigmatisation, social isolation, and lack of social support) were frequent, while macrolevel stressors involved healthcare, education, and other support services. These findings highlight the need for an integrated approach to support parents, more attention to under-researched groups (e.g., fathers and parents of autistic daughters), and longitudinal research on parental stress over time.