Buffering Effect of Spousal Support on Stress Levels in Mothers of Children with a Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Kerala, India

Objectives Bringing up a child with the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be highly stressful. This study aimed to assess perceived stress, level of spousal support, emotion-focused coping styles, and other potentially associated factors among mothers accompanying children diagnosed with ASD for care from selected institutions in Kerala, India. Materials and Methods Consenting parents accompanying children to therapeutic programs in selected institutions were administered a semi structured interview schedule incorporating questions of the vernacular version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), emotion-based coping strategies, spousal support in care of the child diagnosed with ASD, and possible-associated factors. Since internal consistency of stress and coping questionnaires were low, principal component analysis was used to extract composite variables with reasonable psychometric characteristics for stress and coping. Statistical Analysis Ordinal logistic regression was performed with a three-level stress category as the outcome variable. Results High stress was significantly associated with low spousal support (adjusted odds ratio or AOR: 2.80; 95% confidence intervals or CI 1.28-6.11), having a completely dependent child (AOR 4.24 [95% CI 1.92-9.38]), and low acceptance levels (AOR 2.60 [95% CI 1.14-5.89]). Unlike mothers with high spousal support, mothers with low spousal support were likely to have difficulty in interacting with others (p = 0.02) and a low level of acceptance (p = 0.05). Conclusion Spousal support is important to preserve psychological health in mothers of children diagnosed with ASD. Mothers with low spousal support may need interventions that help increase acceptance levels or decrease avoidant behavior.