THE LEVEL OF PSYCHOSOCIAL PRESSURE FACED BY PARENTS OF AUTISTIC STUDENTS AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO CERTAIN VARIABLES

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify the social and psychological pressure faced by parents of autistic students and their relevance to certain variables. The sample consisted of (163) parents of autistic students ( 94 ) males, ( 69 ) females. Data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of (67) paragraphs measuring 4 dimensions: anxiety, isolation, independence and depression.The results indicated that the overall level of psychosocial pressure was low. The results also showed statistically significant differences in favor of females except independence dimension. The results also showed that there are statistically significant differences in favor of higher education qualifications, as the psychosocial pressure decreases as the academic qualification increases. The results also showed that there were significant differences in the economic level, psychosocial pressure decreased as the economic level increased.