AUTHOR=Cheng Shengli , Cheng Sanyin , Liu Shushan , Li Yun 

TITLE=Parents' pandemic stress, parental involvement, and family quality of life for children with autism

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1061796

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.1061796

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Research has shown that parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suffered high levels of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic and faced poor family quality of life (FQOL). However, little is known about the inherent dynamic interaction between pandemic stress and FQOL, especially in the Chinese cultural context.</p></sec><sec><title>Aims</title><p>This study provides preliminary evidence by examining the relationships among pandemic stress, parental involvement, and FQOL for children with autism in mainland China.</p></sec><sec><title>Method</title><p>A total of 709 parents of children with autism completed measures of FQOL, parental involvement, and pandemic stress. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the interrelations among these variables.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Pandemic stress has direct effect and indirect effect mediated by parental involvement on FQOL. Two dimensions of pandemic stress had a direct effect on FQOL (β1 = 0.11; β2 = −0.55) and three dimensions had an indirect effect on FQOL through parental involvement (β1 = −0.097; β2 = 0.257; β3 = 0.114).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>Stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic affects family quality of life for children with autism in complex ways. Policies may be developed to enhance parental <italic>pragmatic hopefulness</italic> in the anti-epidemic victory and alleviate negative <italic>physical and mental reactions</italic> caused by the pandemic.</p></sec>