Association between emotional problems and coping styles in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders

Objective To investigate the status of depression and anxiety symptoms in mothers with autistic child, and explore the association between coping styles and emotional problems.To provide theoretical evidence of mental health intervention for mothers with autistic children. Methods A cross-section study was conducted in three autism rehabilitation centres of Changsha city.A total of 135 mothers of autistic child were recruited from March to November 2018.The self-designed questionnaires, patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), generalized anxiety disorder scale-7 (GAD-7), simple coping style questionnaire(SCSQ) and autism behaviour checklist(ABC) were used in the study.Spearman analysis was used to explore the correlation between emotional problems and copying styles.The ordinal logistic regression was conducted to explore the impact of the coping styles for emotional problems. Results The scores of anxiety and depression symptoms were 9.0 (5.0, 13.0) and 7.0 (3.0, 11.0), respectively.The occurrence rate of anxiety and depression symptoms was 44.5% and 28.1%, respectively.The scores of positive and negative coping were (1.75±0.90) and (1.05±1.03), respectively.There were 72 (53.3%) and 63 (46.7%) of participants adopted positive and negative coping styles, respectively.There was a positive correlation between negative coping and anxiety symptoms (r=0.182, P<0.05). There was a negative correlation between positive coping and depression symptoms (r=-0.184, P<0.05). The ordinal logistic regression showed positive coping was a protective factor for anxiety symptoms (OR=0.444, 95%CI: 0.205-0.965). Conclusion The anxiety and depression symptoms are common problems in mothers of children with ASD.It is necessary to take suitable psychological interventions to encourage them to adopt positive copying styles. Key words: Autism spectrum disorder; Anxiety; Depression; Coping styles