DINAMISASI STRESS PARENTING: MENGELOLA TANTANGAN DAN DUKUNGAN DALAM PENGASUHAN ANAK DENGAN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD)

Background : Stress parenting is a psychological condition experienced by parents in caring for and raising their children. As the child gets older, the challenges they will face will also increase. The level of stress felt is also relatively higher. Parents will experience psychological impacts when parenting, such as feeling prolonged stress. Purpose : To explore and understand the dynamics of stress experienced by parents in raising children with ASD, including causes, stress management efforts, and supporting and inhibiting factors that influence this stress .
Research Methods : The research design uses exploratory qualitative research design. Using snowball sampling technique with 20 respondents who are parents who have children with ASD in Malang Regency. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
Result : The results of the thematic analysis identified 3 main supporting factors: (1) social environment support, (2) stable economic conditions, (3) parental acceptance of children with autism. Instead, the main challenges were identified: (1) Limited parenting resources, (2) poor economic conditions, (3) a less supportive social environment.
Conclusion : Parenting stress in parents who raise autistic children is caused by late diagnosis, emotional reactions, child development challenges, lack of knowledge about autism, and challenging behavior. To cope with stress, parents rely on social support, spirituality, and therapy. While economic problems and negative comments from the environment increase the challenges. Parents gain wisdom such as patience and gratitude. This study emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis, education about autism, and social and economic support to improve the quality of family life.