Psychological distress and social support among caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder: the impact on quality of life

Despite the growing body of research on the psychological well-being of parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, a notable gap persists about the combined relation of psychological distress and social support with quality of life (QOL) areas for these parents. Thereby, this cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the level of psychological distress and social support for parents of children with ASD. It also examines the association between these factors and different QOL domains. The study included 291 primary caregivers aged 19–55 years of children with ASD aged 3–17 years, attending the Child Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic, Assiut, Egypt, who were evaluated by the Psychological Distress Scale, Perceived Social Support Scale, and the World Health Organization's Quality of Life Questionnaire-BREF was applied to assess their different QOL domains. Most of the studied parents experienced a high level of psychological distress and a moderate level of social support, with fifty percent having a very low level of socioeconomic status. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that psychological distress, social support, and socioeconomic status were significantly associated with various QOL domains. Parents of children with ASD experience significant psychological distress and a moderate level of social support. Furthermore, these factors are regarded as significantly associated with various domains of parents' QOL, particularly in the psychological and social areas. This required the need for regular mental health assessment of autism caregivers for better QOL.