Autism Parenting Stress Effects Behavioral Activation: Mediating Role of Emotional Contagion

Abstract

To investigate the mediating role of emotional contagion between the  association of autism parenting stress and behavioral activation, for the purpose of reducing depression in mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Non-probability, Purposive sampling method was used to gather data from 200 mothers (mean age 35.5/ 6.31) of children with ASD. Data was collected from special education institutes of Lahore, Pakistan. Autism Parenting Stress Index (APSI), The Emotion Contagion Sale (EQS) and Behavioral Activation for Depression scale were used to collect data. Scales were translated in Urdu version for the better understanding of selected samples. Data was interpreted through IBM SPSS statistics 23 and PROCESS macros, from the sample, shows that increase in autism parenting stress leads to lack of behavioral activation in the presence of emotional contagion as mediator. The association between autism parenting stress and behavioral activation in the presence of emotional contagion found to be significant is scarcely explored in Pakistan. This research will fill the gap of previous research between given variables to ensure the emotional stability of caregivers of mothers so they could perform daily life challenges effectively while keeping their mental health intact.