Keywords
mothers
cognitive appraisal
emotion regulation
coping
social support
subjective well-being
parental burnout
How to Cite
Abstract
Background. Mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder experience sustained psychological demands related to intensive caregiving, unpredictable child behaviour, restricted social participation, and limited access to specialised services. During the full-scale war in Ukraine, these demands have coincided with displacement, disruptions to educational and rehabilitation services, deterioration of established social-support networks, and pervasive uncertainty. Most previous studies, however, were conducted in peacetime settings and used two-group designs that could not distinguish characteristics associated specifically with raising a child with autism from the broader psychological burden of caring for a child with another neurodevelopmental disorder.
Aim. To examine cognitive appraisal of stressful situations, emotion-regulation difficulties, coping strategies, personal and social resources, subjective well-being, and parental burnout among Ukrainian mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder in comparison with mothers of children with other neurodevelopmental disorders and mothers of typically developing children.
Methods. A cross-sectional, three-group comparative design was employed. The sample comprised 163 women: 56 mothers of children with a documented autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, 52 mothers of children with other neurodevelopmental disorders, and 55 mothers of typically developing children. Data were collected between February and December 2024 across seven regions of Ukraine. Nine validated Ukrainian-language instruments were administered: the Stress Appraisal Measure, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Brief COPE, Personal Resources Inventory, Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale-10, General Self-Efficacy Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, modified BBC Subjective Well-being Scale, and Parental Burnout Assessment. Group differences were examined using Welch’s analysis of variance and Games–Howell post hoc comparisons with Holm adjustment for multiple testing.
Results. The largest between-group differences were observed for threat appraisal (η² = .547), perceived social support (η² = .457), appraisal of uncontrollability (η² = .399), and parental burnout (η² = .368). Mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder reported the highest levels of threat, uncontrollability, emotion-regulation difficulties, emotional depletion, and parental burnout, together with the lowest levels of resilience, self-efficacy, perceived social support, and subjective well-being. Within the emotion-regulation profile, the largest differences concerned limited access to regulation strategies (η² = .196) and impulse-control difficulties (η² = .194), whereas the difference in emotional awareness was small (η² = .042). Total subjective well-being differentiated both clinical groups from mothers of typically developing children; however, the proportions classified as having low well-being were similar among mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder and mothers of children with other neurodevelopmental disorders, at 48.2% and 46.2%, respectively.
Scientific novelty. The study applies a three-group design that makes it possible to differentiate psychological characteristics shared across prolonged caregiving for children with neurodevelopmental disorders from characteristics that are more pronounced among mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder. The findings indicate that the largest group differences are concentrated not only in emotional outcomes but also, and more prominently, in threat and uncontrollability appraisals, perceived social support, and parental burnout.
Practical significance. The findings may inform the development of psychological screening and support programmes for mothers of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Assessment should encompass cognitive appraisal of stressful situations, access to emotion-regulation strategies, perceived social support, subjective well-being, and parental burnout. The results also provide a rationale for further experimental evaluation of interventions addressing regulation skills and the restoration of social connections.
Conclusions. Psychological difficulties among mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder under wartime conditions constitute a differentiated rather than uniform profile. The most pronounced between-group differences concerned threat and uncontrollability appraisals, limited perceived social support, and parental burnout. Mothers of children with different neurodevelopmental disorders shared some reduction in subjective well-being. In contrast, limited access to emotion-regulation strategies and parental burnout were more pronounced in the autism group. Because the study was cross-sectional, the findings do not establish causal relationships and require confirmation in longitudinal and intervention studies.
Keywords: autism spectrum disorder; mothers; cognitive appraisal; emotion regulation; coping; social support; subjective well-being; parental burnout.
Date of submission: 26 May 2026
Date of acceptance for publication: 21 June 2026
Date of publication: 30 June 2026
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