Family stress and ways of coping with adolescents who have handicaps: maternal perceptions.

Mothers' perception of family stress and ways of coping with adolescents who were autistic or had mental retardation (ns = 36 for both groups) were compared. Group differences were found among maternal reports of family stress. All comparisons of child-related stress revealed that mothers with an adolescent who was autistic perceived greater level of family stress than did mothers with an adolescent who had mental retardation. Marital adjustment did not differ by group. Furthermore, maternal coping styles were consistent across groups, indicating that mothers with adolescents who had a handicap relied heavily on community resources and professional help for coping.