Ioanna-Maria Gertsou

Mrs. Ioanna-Maria Gertsou

University of East London
+3

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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25 February 2022 in Journal of Clinical Medicine
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Katerina PapanikolaouKaterina Papanikolaou
Katerina Papanikolaou
VNVassiliki Ili Ntre
Vassiliki Ili Ntre
IGIoanna-Maria Gertsou
Ioanna-Maria Gertsou
ETEvdokia Tagkouli
Evdokia Tagkouli
CTChara Tzavara
Chara Tzavara
GKGerasimos A. Kolaitis
Gerasimos A. Kolaitis
Parenting a child with autism can be particularly stressful and challenging, especially during periods of crises. This study focuses on parenting children with autism during the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison to the economic crisis, six years ago. We administered the same set of questionnaires (CES-D, F-COPES, PSI-SF, and WHOQoL-BREF), along with a demographic characteristic and a COVID-19-related questionnaire to the same group of parents of children with autism as we did six years ago. Results indicated that during the COVID-19 crisis, the level of parenting stress and the distress due to personal factors related to demands of parenting, were significantly lower compared to the economic crisis, while the environment facet of quality of life was significantly higher. The depressive symptomatology was elevated during both periods. Finally, when addressing the pandemic crisis, parents were more likely to passively accept problematic issues, less able to obtain social support, and less able to acquire and accept help from others. In our sample, findings differentiate the genre of crises through the parents’ responses regarding the sense of competence in their parental role, their quality of life, and the coping strategies they implemented. The study implies that each crisis must be confronted with particular responses to particular needs.