Burden of care and Suicidal Ideation among Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Perceived Social Support as a Moderator

Objective: To examine the moderation effect of perceived social support between burden of care and suicidal ideation among mothers of children suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorder. Method: The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2017 to February 2018 in the Pakistani cities of Islamabad Lahore, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Jhelum and Sialkot, and comprised of mothers of Autism Spectrum Disorder children aged 7-12 years who were selected conveniently from the special schools in their respective cities. Standardized tools were used to assess the burden of care, perceived social support and suicidal ideation among the participants. SPSS 21 was used for data analysis. Results: Of the 373 mothers approached, 356(95.4%) responded, but the study was completed by 339(95.2%) of them. There was positive relationship (p<0.01) between burden of care and suicidal ideation, and whereas results showed negative relationship among perceived social support, burden of care (p<0.001) and suicidal ideation (p<0.001). The burden of care positively (p<0.001) and perceived social support negatively (p<0.002) affected suicidal ideation. Perceived social support moderated the burden of care-suicidal ideation relationship (p<0.001) among the mothers. Conclusion: Social support provided by the significant others lowered the burden of care and suicidal ideation among mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.