The Role of Self-Compassion Towards Parenting Stress in Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Parenting children with special needs, like those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), poses challenges and often increases parenting stress, mainly because these children require remarkable attention to optimize their daily activities. Parents who develop self-compassion tend to be better at optimizing their function as a family and can better accept their child’s condition. This study aims to examine the influence of self-compassion on the level of parenting stress in parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Self-compassion is expected to reduce the level of stress experienced by parents in caring for children with ASD. This study uses a quantitative method with 34 parents who have or care for children with ASD. Self-compassion is measured using an adapted version of the original scale developed by Kristin Neff and parenting stress is measured using the Parenting Stress Scale (PSS). The data was analysed using linear regression with JASP ( Jeffreys’s Amazing Statistics Program). The results of the study showed a significant negative relationship between self-compassion and parenting stress in parents who have children with ASD, with an influence of 0.843 on changes in parenting stress. Therefore, it concluded that the result of the linear regression test indicates that self-compassion significantly affects the level of stress in parenting.