Browsing by Author "Lara Zaarour"

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    The Effect of Gender of Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder on Maternal Distress, Guilt and Quality of Life
    (2017) Lara Zaarour
    The present study examined the effect of gender of child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) on (i) maternal distress, (ii) guilt, and (iii) quality of life (QoL). A purposeful sample of 132 mothers, divided between mothers of children with autism (N=44), mothers of children with learning disabilities (N=43) and mothers of typically developing children (N=44) participated in the study. The participants filled in the Parental Stress Index- Short Form (PSI-SF), WHOQOL-BREF to measure maternal quality of life, and the Maternal Guilt Questionnaire. In terms of the results, contrary to the proposed hypothesis, mothers of females with autism reported higher distress than mothers of males with autism. In addition, gender had no effect on maternal guilt nor on maternal quality of life. However, mothers of children with autism reported higher distress than mothers of children with learning disabilities, who further displayed higher distress than those of typically developing children. The results were explained in terms of cultural and stereotypical attitudes and norms.