Stress of the mothers in caring for children with developmental disabilities and some related factors

Abstract

Objective: to determine the stress status of mothers in caring for children with intellectual disabilities from 4-9 years old and survey some related factors in order to design an intervention program to improve maternal stress. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was implemented in May 2022 in Phuoc Long district, Binh Phuoc province on a sample of all 55 mothers of children with developmental disabilities (4-9 years old) who were screened and diagnosed by interdisciplinary approach in locality. The Parenting Stress Index (PSI) was used to collect information from mothers in a self-completed form. The t-test and linear regression was used to compare and find the association of the stress levels with the independent variables. Results: The mean total PSI score of mothers was 97.2. Maternal stress was associated with level of disability and time of continuous care in univariate analysis and linear regression. Conclusion: The focus of the intervention program can be considered to target groups of mothers with children with more severe disabilities and older age groups in order to improve the effectiveness of the intervention program towards improving the stress status of mothers. Keywords: Stress, children with intellectual disabilities, PSI, maternal health.