The Impact of Perceived Stigma on Mental Health of Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Having a child with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a burden and produces a huge stress for their parents. Perceived stigma and severity of diagnostic signs (autism quotient) arefounded as main sources of stress that may explain increased problems in parent's mental health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of perceived stigma, child's autism quotient, and age on the mental health of mothers of children with ASD.As such, 94 mothers whose children had been educated in Special center for education and rehabilitation for autistic children in Isfahan and Shahrekord completed General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Perceived Stigma Questionnaire developed by researchers, Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS). Structural equation model was used to analyze the data by Amos Graphic-18. It was found that perceived stigma had direct significant effect, and child's autism quotient and age had indirect significant effect mediated by perceived stigma on mother's mental health and this model explains 70% of variance of mother's mental health predicted by perceived stigma in mothers. According to the findings of this study, to promote mental health in mothers with autism children, educational programs are in need that will empower mothers of children with ASD against stigma.