Our former doctoral student, Dr. Carly Moser’s new article was published in Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders titled The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in mothers of autistic children and mothers of children with fragile X syndrome. Collaborators included postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Laura Friedman, and Dr. Jessica Klusek. 

Parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities experienced exceptional caregiving burden and hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic, partly due to the reduction or discontinuation of services. Our study included 54 mothers of children with fragile X syndrome (FXS), 46 mothers of autistic children, and a control group of 80 mothers of neurotypical children. We investigated maternal mental health, such as psychological well-being, social support, and caregiving responsibilities during the pandemic across groups.

We found that mothers of children with disabilities reported higher levels of clinically significant symptoms of depression and anxiety. These mothers also reported that they were depressed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted their psychological well-being. All mothers reported to have increased caregiving responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, but mothers of children with disabilities had a greater increase in caregiving responsibilities compared to mothers of neurotypical children. In addition to this increase of caregiving responsibilities, mothers of children with disabilities reported lower levels of social support compared to control mothers. Findings highlight the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mothers of children with disabilities, and suggest that the increased caregiving responsibilities and reduced social support were significant risk factors for overall mental health in mothers. These findings can help navigate current support and resources that promote maternal well-being and the well-being of their children, especially with diminishing the stressors of caregivers that were heightened by the pandemic. 

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