Maternal Mental Health of Children with Special Needs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47672/ejhs.1549Keywords:
Maternal Mental Health, Children with Special Needs, Parental Stress, Caregiver Well-being, Support ServicesAbstract
Purpose: Having a child with special needs can put a significant strain on a family and have a detrimental effect on everyone's quality of life. Therefore, mothers require resilience to lessen the impact of such challenges and setbacks. The purpose of this research was to examine depression, anxiety, and stress levels, as well as the impact of social support, among mothers raising children with disabilities.
Methodology: All UAE mothers with children who have special needs were included in the statistical sample. Purposive (Non-random) sampling was used to choose 200 willing participants for the sample. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support were used as research instruments.
Findings: SPSS (version 26) was used for the statistical analysis through which it was observed that mothers of challenged children were more likely to report lower levels of social support and a higher prevalence of mental health problems such as sadness, anxiety, and stress. Additionally, Pearson correlation analysis showed that stress, anxiety, and sadness were positively and significantly related. Furthermore, linear regression analysis revealed that mothers' social support accounts for explaining and predicting 63% of the variance in their mental health problems associated with raising a child with special needs. The results were presented with the help of tables.
Recommendations: Future research on the psychological and social well-being of mothers and the impact of mental health-care support on the well-being of mothers having special children should be conducted. The research will help in spreading awareness among people for prioritizing the mental health support of mothers of children with special needs.
Downloads
References
Abbas, Q., Feroz, R., & Alyana, S. (2016). Determinants of Psychological Wellbeing in Mothers of Children with Intellectual Disability. Pakistan Journal of Clinical Psychology, 15(1).
Ahmed, S., Bryant, L. D., Ahmed, M., Jafri, H., & Raashid, Y. (2013). Experiences of parents with a child with Down syndrome in Pakistan and their views on termination of pregnancy. Journal of community genetics, 4, 107-114.
Ali, N. S., Azam, I. S., Ali, B. S., Tabbusum, G., & Moin, S. S. (2012). Frequency and associated factors for anxiety and depression in pregnant women: a hospital-based cross-sectional study. The Scientific World Journal, 2012.
American Psychiatric Association, D. S. M. T. F., & American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5 (Vol. 5, No. 5). Washington, DC: American psychiatric association.
Ash, S. (2016). Adolescents with developmental disabilities & their parents: A systems theory approach to functioning and well-being. Ph.D. Thesis, Newton, MA, USA: Boston College.
Barroso, N. E., Mendez, L., Graziano, P. A., & Bagner, D. M. (2018). Parenting stress through the lens of different clinical groups: A systematic review & meta-analysis. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 46, 449-461.
Blacher, J., & McIntyre, L. L. (2006). Syndrome specificity and behavioral disorders in young adults with intellectual disability: Cultural differences in family impact. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 50(3), 184-198.
Brei, N. B., Schwarz, G. N., & Klein-Tasman, B. P. (2015). Parenting stress: Influences of ASD spectrum symptomatology, behavior problems, and adaptive function. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 27(5), 617–635
Carollo, A., Bonassi, A., Lim, M., Gabrieli, G., Setoh, P., Dimitriou, D., ... & Esposito, G. (2021). Developmental disabilities across the world: A scientometric review from 1936 to 2020. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 117, 104031.
Clark, E., Zhou, Z., & Du, L. (2019). Autism in China: Progress and challenges in addressing the needs of children and families. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 7(2), 135–146.
Craig, F., Margari, F., Legrottaglie, A. R., Palumbi, R., De Giambattista, C., & Margari, L. (2016). A review of executive function deficits in autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 1191-1202.
Dardas, L. A., & Ahmad, M. M. (2014). Quality of life among parents of children with autistic disorder: A sample from the Arab world. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 35(2), 278–287.
Dawson F., Shanahan S., Fitzsimons E., O'Malley G., Mac G. N. & Bramham J. (2016) The impact of caring for an adult with intellectual disability and psychiatric comorbidity on carer stress and psychological distress. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research 60, 553– 563.
Dunst, C. J., Trivette, C. M., & Deal, A. G. (1994). Enabling and empowering families. Brookline books.
Emerson, E., & Einfeld, S. (2010). Emotional and behavioural difficulties in young children with and without developmental delay: a bi‐national perspective. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, 51(5), 583-593.
Esposito, G., & Setoh, P. (2021). Parental involvement in developmental disabilities across cultures. Research in developmental disabilities, 116, 104023.
Fauzia, J. H., & Mangunsong, F. M. (2020). The effect of social support on the social-emotional ability of children with special needs is mediated by parental acceptance of children. Psychology and Education, 57(4), 280–284
Fisher, J., Mello, M. C. D., Patel, V., Rahman, A., Tran, T., Holton, S., & Holmes, W. (2012). Prevalence and determinants of common perinatal mental disorders in women in low-and lower-middle-income countries: a systematic review. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 90, 139-149.
Giallo R., Seymour M., Matthews J., Gavidia-Payne S., Hudson A. & Cameron C. (2015) Risk factors associated with the mental health of fathers of children with an intellectual disability in Australia: mental health of fathers. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research 59, 193– 207.
Goldberg, D. P., & Williams, P. (1988). A user's guide to the General Health Questionnaire. (No Title).
Goodman, R. (1997). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: a research note. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, 38(5), 581-586.
Hastings, R. P. (2008). Stress in parents of children with autism.
Halstead, E. J., Griffith, G. M., & Hastings, R. P. (2018). Social support, coping, and positive perceptions as potential protective factors for the well-being of mothers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 64(4-5), 288-296.
Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford publications.
Hebron, J., & Humphrey, N. (2014). Mental health difficulties among young people on the autistic spectrum in mainstream secondary schools: A comparative study. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 14(1), 22-32.
Husain, N., Parveen, A., Husain, M., Saeed, Q., Jafri, F., Rahman, R., ... & Chaudhry, I. B. (2011). Prevalence and psychosocial correlates of perinatal depression: a cohort study from urban Pakistan. Archives of women's mental health, 14, 395-403.
Horsley S. & Oliver C. (2015) Positive impact and its relationship to well-being in parents of children with intellectual disability: a literature review. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities 61, 1– 19.
Hou, Y., Stewart, L., Iao, L., & Wu, C. (2018). Parenting stress and depressive symptoms in Taiwanese mothers of young children with ASD spectrum disorder: Association with children ’s behavioral problems. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 31(6), 1113–1121.
IBM Corp, N. (2017). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows. Version 25.0.
Kaufman, A. V., Kosberg, J. I., Leeper, J. D., & Tang, M. (2015). Social support, caregiver burden, life in a sample of rural African American and white caregivers of older persons with dementia. Journal of Deonto Logical Social Work, 53, 251–269.
Lee J. (2013) Maternal stress, well-being, and impaired sleep-in mothers of children with developmental disabilities: a literature review. Research in Developmental Disabilities 34, 4255– 4273.
Lovibond, P. F., & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour research and therapy, 33(3), 335-343.
Machado Junior, S. B., Celestino, M. I. O., Serra, J. P. C., Caron, J., & Ponde, M. P. (2016). Risk and protective factors for symptoms of anxiety and depression in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. Developmental neurorehabilitation, 19(3), 146-153.
Maskey, M., Warnell, F., Parr, J. R., Le Couteur, A., & McConachie, H. (2013). Emotional and behavioural problems in children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 43, 851-859.
Maselko, J., Sikander, S., Bangash, O., Bhalotra, S., Franz, L., Ganga, N., ... & Rahman, A. (2016). Child mental health and maternal depression history in Pakistan. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 51, 49-62.
McGinnity, Á., Meltzer, H., Ford, T., & Goodman, R. (2005). Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain, 2004 (Vol. 175). H. Green (Ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave macmillan.
Miodrag N., Burke M., Tanner-Smith E. & Hodapp R. M. (2015) Adverse health in parents of children with disabilities and chronic health conditions: a meta-analysis using the Parenting Stress Index's Health Sub-domain. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research 59, 257– 271.
Moen, O. L., Hall-Lord, M. L., & Hedelin, B. (2011). Contending and adapting every day: Norwegian parents’ lived experience of having a child with ADHD. Journal of Family Nursing, 17(4), 441–462
Patias, N. D., Machado, W. D. L., Bandeira, D. R., & Dell'Aglio, D. D. (2016). Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21)-short form: adaptação e validação para adolescentes brasileiros. Psico-usf, 21, 459-469.
Pisula, E., & Porębowicz-Do, A. (2017). Family functioning, parenting stress and quality of life in mothers and fathers of Polish children with high functioning autism or Asperger syndrome. PLoS ONE, 12(10), e0186536.
Rimmerman A., Gur A., Muraver M. & Yurkevich O. (2018) Personal and social life of Israeli aging mothers to adult children with intellectual disabilities: Differences related to family status and living arrangement. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities 64, 81–85.
Robinson, S., Weiss, J. A., Lunsky, Y., & Ouellette-Kuntz, H. (2016). Informal support and burden among parents of adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 29(4), 356–365.
Seu, C. K., & Joo, H. E. (2013). A Path analysis of the variables related to the quality of life of mothers with disabled children in Korea. Stress & Health Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 29(3), 229–239
Sowmya, P., & Preethi, B. L. (2019). Inter-gender and intra-gender diffrences of parenting stress among mothers of children with special needs and normal children. International Journal of Physiology, 7,4(4), 229–232.
Totsika, V., Hastings, R. P., Emerson, E., Lancaster, G. A., & Berridge, D. M. (2011). A population‐based investigation of behavioural and emotional problems and maternal mental health: Associations with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52(1), 91-99.
Valicenti-McDermott, M., Lawson, K., Hottinger, K., Seijo, R., Schechtman, M., Shulman, L., & Shinnar, S. (2015). Parental stress in families of children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Journal of child neurology, 30(13), 1728-1735.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., Weber, K., Assenheimer, J. S., Strauss, M. E., & McCormick, R. A. (1995). Testing a tripartite model: II. Exploring the symptom structure of anxiety and depression in student, adult, and patient samples. Journal of abnormal Psychology, 104(1), 15.
Yorke, I., White, P., Weston, A., Rafla, M., Charman, T., & Simonoff, E. (2018). The association between emotional and behavioral problems in children with autism spectrum disorder and psychological distress in their parents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 48, 3393-3415.
Yousefi, S., Soltani Far, A., & Abdolahian, E. (2011). Parenting stress and parenting styles in mothers of ADHD with mothers of normal children. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 1666–1671.
Zablotsky, B., Bradshaw, C. P., & Stuart, E. A. (2013). The association between mental health, stress, and coping supports in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 43, 1380-1393.
Zhang, H., Zhao, Q., Cao, P., & Ren, G. (2017). Resilience and quality of life: Exploring the mediator role of social support in patients with Breast Cancer. Medical Science Monitor, 23, 5969–5979.
Zhou, W., Liu, D., Xiong, X., & Xu, H. (2019). Emotional problems in mothers of autistic children and their correlation with socioeconomic status and the children's core symptoms. Medicine, 98(32).
Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. (1988). The multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Journal of personality assessment, 52(1), 30-41.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Ali Mohamed Alsari Almheiri, Amna Sayah Alhammadi, Khaled Yahya Alzaman, Mariam Saif Albedwawi, Noura Nasir Alzaabi, Hamda Mohammed Alshehhi, Burhan Ul Haq
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
