Self-Efficacy, Perceived Social Support, and Quality of Life among Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

The present study examined the associations among self-efficacy, perceived social support, and quality of life among parents and primary caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Adopted a quantitative, cross-sectional correlational design, with a sample of 100 parents recruited through purposive sampling from a rehabilitation centre in Bengaluru, India, and used standardized measures to assess parental self-efficacy, perceived social support, and quality of life. Descriptive statistics and Shapiro-Wilk tests were used for preliminary analysis, followed by Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression. The results indicated significant positive associations among parental self-efficacy, perceived social support, and quality of life, with parental self-efficacy positively correlated with perceived social support (r = .54, p < .001) and quality of life (r = .62, p < .001), and perceived social support also positively correlated with quality of life (r = .68, p < .001). Multiple linear regression showed that parental self-efficacy and perceived social support jointly explained 55.3% of the variance in quality of life, F(2, 97) = 59.91, p < .001, with perceived social support demonstrating the stronger standardized association, followed by parental self-efficacy. The findings highlight the importance of strengthening both caregiver competence beliefs and support resources in family-centred autism services.