Locus of Control, Perceived Social Support and Quality of Life Between Mothers of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Mainstream Children

Abstract

The present study compared locus of control perceived social support, and quality of life between mothers of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and mainstream children. Through purposive sampling, data were collected from 200 mothers of children having ASD (n=100) and mainstream (n=100) children. Children’s ages ranged between 3-13 years (M=7.4; SD=2.3). Urdu Translated Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Jibeen & Khalid, 2010), Urdu Translated Rotter’s Locus of Control Scale (Khan), Urdu Translated World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale (Khalid &Kausar, 2006) and Demographic Form was administered. A comparative research design was used. One time approach to the participants was carried out. The results revealed a significant difference in the locus of control, perceived social support, and all four quality of life subscales, i.e., physical, psychological, social, and environmental between mothers of ASD and mainstream children. Moreover, mothers of Autistic children scored significantly low on perceived social support and quality of life scores whilst scoring high on locus of control as compared to the mainstream group mothers. Lastly, results revealed a significant positive relationship between perceived social support and quality of life among mothers of ASD children. Implications and suggestions of research have been discussed.