Grit protects Chinese parents of autistic children from the risk of psychological distress by reducing perceived parenting stress

Parenting a autistic child can be more stressful than parenting a child with typical development. To date, less is known about whether grit may help parents of autistic children to overcome psychological distress. This study aimed to investigate the association between grit and psychological distress among Chinese parents of autistic children and explore the underlying mechanism of this association. A cross-sectional sample of 200 Chinese parents of autistic children was analyzed, including data on grit, perceived parenting stress, and psychological distress. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and bootstrapping with 5000 resamplings (95 % confidence interval) were employed to test hypotheses. Our findings showed significant direct effects of grit on perceived parenting stress and psychological distress in parents of autistic children. Perceived parenting stress significantly mediated the effect of grit on psychological distress, and this indirect effect was significantly better in fathers and those parents with a high school education or below. Interventions that develop the skills of parents of autistic children to help them cultivate grit and better manage stress can have the potential to overcome psychological distress, and these mitigating effects may be more effective in helping fathers and parents with a high school education or less.