title: Comparison of parental stress among mothers and fathers of children with autistic spectrum disorder in Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Most of the studies about parenting stress among parents of children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) have been conducted in western societies. The objective of this research, conducted in Iran, is to evaluate the parenting stress among fathers and mothers of children with ASD and find the correlation between severity of the disorder in children and the level of parental stress.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants included 42 couples having children aged between 2 and 12 diagnosed with ASD based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria. The diagnosis was made by two child and adolescent psychiatrists. Demographic information of the participants was collected using a questionnaire. The severity of pervasive developmental disorder in children was determined based on Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS); stress of parents was measured using Parenting Stress Index (PSI). Collected information was analyzed by the SPSS (version 16) software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Evaluation of subscales in participants' data showed a positive correlation coefficient between the PSI-parent domain and Childhood Autism Rating Scale-Parent form CARS-P rating (r = 0.339, P =0 0.028) and also between the total stress index and CARS-P rating (r = 0.333, P = 0.031) for fathers. It is thus suggested that fathers of children with more severe developmental disorders experience more stress. The results showed significant differences between fathers and mothers in the three PSI subscales including PSI-child domain score (P < 0.005), PSI-parent domain score (P < 0.005), and the total stress index (P < 0.005). Mothers had significantly more stress than fathers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings show that parents with ASD children have many emotional needs which should be considered in planning the effective treatment strategies for their children.
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Ibn-E-Sina Hosptal, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Atefeh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soltanifar
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Ibn-E-Sina Hosptal, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Farzad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Akbarzadeh
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Ibn-E-Sina Hosptal, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Moharreri
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Ibn-E-Sina Hosptal, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Azadeh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soltanifar
authors.affiliation: Resident of Psychiatry, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Ibn-E-Sina Hosptal, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ebrahimi
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Ibn-E-Sina Hosptal, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Naghmeh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mokhber
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Ibn-E-Sina Hosptal, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Minoocherhr
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, California, USA.
authors.forename: Syed Shojut
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Ali Naqvi
keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; fathers; mothers; parental stress; pervasive developmental disorders