Abstract
To test a model of how mothers cope with the stresses of raising a child with autism (Tunali & Power, 1993), mothers of children with and without autism were interviewed. As predicted, mothers of autistic children: (1) placed less emphasis on career success and were more likely to believe that mothers of young children should not work outside of the home; (2) spent more leisure time with their extended family; (3) placed less emphasis on others' opinions of their child's behavior; (4) placed more emphasis on spousal support and parental roles in their discussions of marriage; (5) had more difficulty understanding their child's behavior; and (6) showed a marginally significant difference in their tolerance of ambiguity. Moreover, mothers of children with autism who showed these characteristics had the greatest life satisfaction overall.
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Tunali, B., Power, T.G. Coping by Redefinition: Cognitive Appraisals in Mothers of Children with Autism and Children Without Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 32, 25–34 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017999906420
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017999906420