摘要Objectives:To investigate the parenting stress,care burden,and coping styles in mothers of autistic children during the pandemic of COVID-19.The outbreak of COVID-19 and the closure of education and care centers for these children may affect stress,care burden,and adaptation of these mothers.Methods:This study was a cross-sectional research.A total of 110 mothers completed questionnaires.Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics(frequency,percentage,mean,and standard deviation),independent t-test,ANOVA,and multiple linear regressions.Results:Findings showed that parenting stress has a strong and direct correlation with caring burden(P＜0.001,r=0.95),and a strong and indirect correlation with coping styles(P＜0.001,r=-0.91).Variables of caring burden,coping strategies,mother's age,mother's job,mother's education,number of autistic children,economic status,children's age,and functional level of autism in children can predict 72.21％of the variance in parenting stress in these mothers.Conclusions:In the present study,parenting stress of mothers of autistic children was reported to be high during the COVID-19 pandemic.Based on the findings of this study,it can be concluded that pediatric nurses and health policymakers should provide a suitable educational and supportive environment for mothers of autistic children to enhance the coping level of these mothers and consequently reduce their parenting stress and care burden.