(PS10-C58) Impact of Having a Neurodiverse Child on Parental Stress and Family Chaos During COVID-19

Parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders experience higher levels of household chaos and stressors in family functioning when compared to families with neurotypical children (Schiltz et al., 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic has created unique stressors for families of youth with neurodevelopmental disorders. Such families reported that COVID-19 has impacted them the most by losing essential services that aid in caring for their child (Neece, 2020). Additionally, low-wage workers tend to rely more on school resources to provide essential services for their child (Golderstein et al., 2020). Thus, during the pandemic, lower-income families may be disproportionately affected by the reduction in resources due to remote learning, resulting in more stress for parents. Both parental stress (more stressors and lower parental satisfaction) and household chaos (high household commotion and confusion) may negatively affect child outcomes, so it is important we understand the contributing factors. The purpose of this study is to inform providers, families, and individuals how child neurodiversity may impact family chaos and parental stress during the pandemic.

Parents (50.5% mothers and 49% fathers) of children aged 7-12 years (N= 194; 62.9% male and 74.2% white) reported household income. Parenting stress was assessed using the 18-item Parental Stress Scale (1-strongly disagree to 5-strongly agree); items were averaged with a higher total score indicating higher perceived parental stress. Parents also provided reports of household chaos and order, using the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale, a 15-item True/False scale. True responses were scored as a 1; higher “CHAOS” values indicated more chaotic and disordered households. Lastly, parents indicated whether their child had ever been diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder (yes/no). Participants were recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk.

Two independent samples t-tests compared total scores of both parental stress and household chaos between parents of neurodiverse and neurotypical children. Parents of neurodiverse children reported significantly higher parental stress (t = -1.831, p = .035), but not household chaos (p = .154, t = -1.021). A moderator analysis was run using PROCESS procedure for SPSS (4.0) examining parental income as a moderator of the relationship between child neurodiversity and parental stress. The model was not significant (p >.05). 

While all families in our sample reported a high level of disorder and chaos within their home during COVID-19, parents of neurodiverse children experienced significantly higher levels of stress than parents of neurotypical children. High family income did not buffer against these effects. Family stress theory (McCubbin & Patterson, 1983) suggests that higher-income families may be less vulnerable to the effects of stress in a crisis. However, it is possible that higher-income families were less inclined to use their outside support services during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in similar effects of parental stress and household chaos across income levels. Given the results of this study, households with neurodiverse children may benefit from increased support regardless of socioeconomic status.