Raising a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be a very stressful experience, impacting parents and their ability to take care of their child. We examined the relationship between parenting stress and child, and parent and contextual factors in a sample of 61 families of children with ASD recruited in a centre for ASD assessment and treatment. Results showed that mothers had a higher level of stress related to their parental role when compared to fathers. Data also showed the importance of considering the specific role of parental emotion regulation, family functioning and educational level in influencing maternal stress and the specific role of couple adjustment in influencing fathers’ parental distress. This study pointed out the importance of employing a vision that embraces different domains of family life in cases of children with ASD and in parents’ intervention programmes because these factors may contribute to parental stress.

抚养患有自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的孩子可能是一种压力很大的经历，会影响父母及其照顾孩子的能力。我们在 ASD 评估和治疗中心招募的 61 个 ASD 儿童家庭样本中检查了养育压力与孩子之间的关系，以及父母和背景因素之间的关系。结果表明，与父亲相比，母亲对父母角色的压力更高。数据还显示了考虑父母情绪调节、家庭功能和教育水平在影响母亲压力方面的具体作用以及夫妻调整在影响父亲的父母痛苦方面的具体作用的重要性。