Brief Report: Gender-Based Stereotypical Roles of Parents Caring for Autistic Children in Nigeria and South Africa

In Nigeria and South Africa, women often have less voice and are less visible given cultural norms and related gender stereotypes. It is important to understand parents’ gender roles in the context of caregiving for children with autism spectrum disorder because inequality in caregiving roles may influence the health of children with autism and that of their parents. We explored the lived caregiving experiences of male and female parents with autistic children in Nigeria (n = 15) and South Africa (n = 10) using structured and unstructured questionnaire. Results showed that women often experienced stress in relationship to multiple and substantial caregiving roles while men commonly limited their caregiving roles based on a patriarchal ideology related to their culture.