Use of the questionnaire on resources and stress (QRS-F) with parents of young children with autism.

The Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (Friedrich, short form: QRS-F) has been used widely with parents of children with disabilities. However, its psychometric properties in parents of young children with autism have not been established. Here, 174 mothers and 43 fathers of children under 6 years with autism spectrum disorder were studied by two independent research teams. Each parent completed a 31-item version of the QRS-F. Factor analysis of the mothers' scores on these items failed to identify an expected two- or three-factor structure. Thus, the properties of a total stress score were explored. Analyses revealed evidence of good reliability, and expected associations with social support, coping and autism severity. These analyses lend preliminary support to the convergent validity of the scale. Overall, the data support the use of a total stress score from the 31-item version of the QRS-F in research with parents of young children with autism.