The network structure of daily stress process components: Comparing mothers of children with and without developmental disabilities.

Abstract

Guided by a lifespan developmental perspective, using a network analysis approach, this study compared the structure of daily stress components in mothers of adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities (DD) and a matched sample of mothers of children without DD. We also examined whether components of daily stress were differentially associated with subsequent depression symptoms. Participants (N = 516; 100% female; M = 54.52 years, SD = 10.21; 94.2% White) were drawn from two cohorts: a DD cohort constructed from two linked longitudinal studies of families of adolescents and adults with autism and fragile X syndrome and a comparison group from the Midlife in United States study. Participants completed an 8-day daily telephone interview and reported depressive symptoms two years later. Findings demonstrated that the daily stress network of mothers of individuals with DD was significantly more interconnected than that of the comparison group. Stressor risk appraisal emerged as a central node in both groups, highlighting the role of cognitive appraisal in shaping stress responses. Negative affective reactivity linked daily stress components with later depressive symptoms, particularly in the DD group. Chronic caregiving stress may heighten interconnectivity within daily stress networks, reducing psychological flexibility and increasing vulnerability to daily stressors.