Exploring Feelings of Worry and Sources of Stress during COVID-19 Pandemic among Parents of Children with Disability: A Sample from Arab Countries

Faisal Abdelfattah,Ahmad Rababah,Abdullah Awamleh,Zaidan Alsartawi,Ibrahim Alqaryouti,Dareen Khlaifat

doi:10.3390/educsci11050216

Abstract

The study sought to explore feelings of worry and sources of stress-affected parents of children with disabilities, as well as describing the negative feelings and how resources helped them overcome stress due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. Furthermore, we sought to assess the level of general satisfaction with the services they have obtained remotely. Methodology: A sample of 623 parents of children with disabilities filled out an electronic self-report questionnaire during the period June 4th to June 20th, 2020. Results: The parents reported a high level of worry regarding the possibility of their child getting infected. Parents continue to worry about losing their child’s care and treatment. Parents who hold a bachelor’s degree feel the sources of stress at a higher level compared to parents with lower than high school education. A proportion of 59% of parents reported not receiving services from special education centers during the pandemic, and 41% of parents were satisfied with the services provided by the center of special education. Parents with a bachelor’s degree or higher were less satisfied with the center’s services. Parents with a higher qualification than secondary school use several sources to overcome the pressure associated with educating a child with a disability. Conclusion: Mental health fears were associated with pandemic restrictions. The study recommends special education centers implement strategies that support parents with special education children.

Highlights

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected millions of people globally as case numbers are estimated to reach 9 million cases from March 2020 to June 2020, with a death count of around 1 million
The results showed that parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are more likely to have mental health problems compared to parents of children with intellectual, visual, or auditory disabilities
To address the first research question, “What level of worry did parents of children with disabilities feel at the beginning and during the corona pandemic”? Descriptive statistics and two related samples t-tests were extracted in Table 2 for the worry scale at the two occasions

Summary

Introduction

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected millions of people globally as case numbers are estimated to reach 9 million cases from March 2020 to June 2020, with a death count of around 1 million. The initial spread of the pandemic was limited in the Arab world compared to other areas. The strong geopolitical and business relations the Middle East holds with Europe, North America, and East Asia have eventually eased the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Health Organization [1] issued a warning in March 2020 stating that the pandemic spread has not yet reached its peak in the Middle East and North Africa and urging countries to prepare for the anticipated increase in the spread. The human relations between the Arab world and the disease hotspots have facilitated the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the area. The high population density in certain Arab countries has further contributed to the spread, in addition to the scarcity of the tool kits necessary to detect COVID-19 cases and treat them

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