Self-compassion, ego-resiliency, coping with stress and the quality of life of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder

BACKGROUND: The literature shows a fairly coherent picture of the types of difficulties parents face. Adaptive both coping styles and resources, such as self-compassion and ego-resiliency, indicated as important predictors of the quality of life among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. The aim of the study was to determine the links between self-compassion and ego-resiliency, coping with stress and quality of life among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in a Polish sample (N = 76). METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted. The CISS, Self-Compassion Scale-Short, Ego-Resiliency Scale, and Quality of Life Questionnaire were used. RESULTS: Regression analysis was carried out to address the research question. It was confirmed that both resources studied exhibited negative relations with emotion-oriented coping, while ego-resiliency was also positively correlated with task- and avoidance-oriented strategies. The hierarchical multiple regression conducted in three steps indicated that ego-resiliency (18%) and emotion-oriented (14%) were the strongest predictors of quality of life among parents of children with ASD. CONCLUSIONS: The obtained results proved that ego-resiliency and a task-oriented coping strategy were important indicators of the quality of life of parents of children with ASD.