Factores relacionados al estrés en padres de niños y adolescentes con trastorno del espectro autista: una revisión sistemática

Abstract

Background: parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience high levels of stress which are related to several factors, mainly the lack of social and family support, behavior problems, and the severity of ASD symptoms. Objective: To determine the factors related to stress in parents of children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Methodology: systematic review. Thirteen analytical studies were included after reading titles and abstracts based on specified domains and STROBE criteria from January 2015 to December 2020 in English and Spanish. The databases Pubmed, Elsevier, Springer and Science Direct were used as well as the Descriptors in Health Sciences (DeCS) and Boolean operators (AND, AND; NO, NOT and OR, OR). The information was synthesized in personalized tables. Results: the prevalence of stress in parents ranged from 33.8% to 98%; 3 out of 4 studies indicated a relationship between poor social support and stress (p<0.05), 4 out of 5 studies established a relationship between severity of ASD symptoms and stress (p<0.05). Six studies demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between stress and behavior problems (p<0.05). Conclusions: the prevalence of stress varies widely according to the literature that is consulted, moreover, the lack of social and family support, behavior problems and the severity of symptoms could be considered the main influencing factors of stress. Limitations: no studies were found in Latin America which does not allow to generalize the results.