Presentation

Lila Adana Díaz^1,2, Alejandra Cuadros-López³ y César Parra^1
1University of the Americas, ²University of Salamanca, ³University of the Pacific

Abstract

It is known that there is a very strong relationship between health and socioeconomic level; we also know that families that have children with conditions associated with the autism spectrum have a higher caregiver overload, compared to parents of children with a different neurodevelopmental condition. For this reason, the objective of this study was to identify the variables that are associated with levels of caregiver overload, according to socioeconomic level and diagnoses of their children. For this, we accessed a sample of 150 caregivers residing in different provinces of Ecuador. A sociodemographic questionnaire, a clinical questionnaire, and the Zarit caregiver burden scale were applied . Linear regression analyzes were conducted. The obtained results allow us to identify the existence of a significant relationship between levels of caregiver overload and parent´s perception of child aggressiveness. On the other hand, we can corroborate that, in the Ecuadorian population, the condition of autism within families entails a greater caregiver overload, compared to the condition of intellectual disability. Based on these results, we can have an impact in the promotion of public policies that help meet the needs of families with children diagnosed with autism in Ecuador.

Keywords:caregiver overload, autism, intellectual disability, aggressiveness