Problem Behaviours and Parental Stress among Children with Mild Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

There is phenomenal rate of increasing level of stress. Parents who raise their children with neurodevelopmental disorders experience higher stress levels than the parents of children without these disorders. Problem behaviors of intellectually disabled patients acts as a serious barrier to the personal development and to the others in the environment. At the same time these interferes with their parents lives. The present study investigates the relationship between parental stress and behavioral problems of children with mild intellectual disability. 32 parents of children with mild intellectual disability were assessed by Parental Stress Scale (PSS) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Parental stress was high among fathers than mothers; also, there was significant difference between the stress levels of parents on the basis of gender of their children. Stress among parents of boy child was high than among girl child. Further there was no correlation between behavioral problems and parental stress. This study holds implication in development of psychological interventions by providing a platform for parents to deal with the behavioral problem of their children.