Abstract：
Caring for children with different developmental trajectories brings various challenges, which are often exacerbated in low-resource settings. International research has shown that raising a child with autism strongly impacts family caregivers, particularly mothers. There is a dearth of information regarding caregiving for individuals with autism in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and for fathers as well as mothers. This study examined the similarities and differences in caregiving for mothers and fathers of a child with autism in KRI using validated rating scales to measure various aspects of their general well-being. Over two years, a sample of 118 parents of individuals with autism (81 mothers and 37 fathers) self-completed the rating scales, which were further discussed through individual interviews with service personnel mainly known to them. The findings indicated that mothers and fathers were similarly impacted. Although there were no statistically significant differences in the ratings of their general health, sources of stress, family functioning, and satisfaction with caregiving, the majority of parents had elevated ratings on all the measures. In addition, parents who rated their children higher on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist had significantly higher scores on their general health issues and were less satisfied with their caregiving role. Parents of female individuals with autism were also significantly more stressed compared to the male individuals with autism and parents of children who received a diagnosis before three years of age, reported fewer behavioral problems with their child compared to the parents who received a diagnosis when the child was older. In this sample, mothers and fathers seem to be similarly impacted by caring for a child with autism, which is contrary to findings from other countries. However, in this region, family bonds between couples and the wider family may have had an influence which further cross-cultural research in low-resource settings could help elucidate, notwithstanding the challenges this poses. The findings have policy implications for health authorities in the KRI to improve the support provided to both mothers and fathers who care for children with autism, which presently is rarely available to them.
摘要：
照顾不同发育轨迹的儿童带来各种挑战，这在低资源环境中往往会加剧。国际研究表明，抚养自闭症儿童会严重影响家庭照顾者，尤其是母亲。伊拉克库尔德斯坦地区（KRI）自闭症患者以及父亲和母亲的护理信息匮乏。这项研究使用经过验证的评定量表来衡量KRI中自闭症儿童的父母在照料方面的异同，以衡量其总体幸福感的各个方面。两年多了,118名自闭症患者的父母（81名母亲和37名父亲）自我完成了评定量表，通过与主要为他们所知的服务人员的个别访谈进一步讨论了这些问题。调查结果表明，母亲和父亲也受到了类似的影响。尽管他们的一般健康状况评分没有统计学上的显着差异，压力的来源，家庭功能,以及对护理的满意度，大多数父母对所有措施的评价都很高。此外,在异常行为检查表中对孩子评分较高的父母对其一般健康问题的评分明显较高,对其照顾角色的满意度较低.与患有自闭症的男性个体和在三岁之前接受诊断的儿童的父母相比，患有自闭症的女性个体的父母也承受更大的压力。与孩子年龄较大时接受诊断的父母相比，他们孩子的行为问题较少。在这个样本中，母亲和父亲似乎同样受到照顾自闭症儿童的影响，这与其他国家的调查结果相反。然而,在这个地区,夫妇与更广泛的家庭之间的家庭纽带可能产生了影响，在低资源环境中进行进一步的跨文化研究可以帮助阐明，尽管这带来了挑战。这些发现对KRI的卫生当局改善对照顾自闭症儿童的母亲和父亲提供的支持具有政策意义。这是目前很少提供给他们。
