Jordanian Parents Research Articles

Psychological distress and perceived support among Jordanian parents living with a child with cerebral palsy: a cross‐sectional study

Cerebral palsy, with a prevalence in Europe of 2-2.5 per 1000 live births, is the most common severe physical disability affecting children. While many parents have positive perceptions of their disabled children, caring for a child with disability can be exhausting and stressful, and social support is an important coping resource. There is little evidence about how having a child with cerebral palsy affects Jordanian parents. The purpose of this study was to provide insight into the psychological distress and perceived support among Jordanian parents living with a child with cerebral palsy. In 2010, a cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational design was used with a nonprobability sample of 204 Jordanian parents. Both mothers and fathers, interviewed individually rather than in pairs, were recruited from health care centres that provided comprehensive care for children with cerebral palsy in Jordan and from designated schools for special education. The Gross Motor Function Classification System, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Beck Depression Inventory, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were administered to parents. Descriptive statistical analysis was applied. Bivariate correlation analysis was undertaken to examine the relationship between variables. More than 60% of parents often felt nervous and stressed. The mean score on the PSS was 27.0 (SD=9.33), and the mean score on the MSPSS was 58.9 (SD=15.1). Severe disability in the child was associated with high mental distress in the parent and linked to low support from friends. There was a significant negative correlation between parental stress, depression and social support. Parents with the most psychological distress were the least well supported. This study has implications for health professionals in terms of developing strategies for reducing parental stress. There are implications for policy to provide support for parents and to develop family-centred services. The findings will inform an intervention study to investigate multi-professional support.

Parenting From a Jordanian Perspective: Findings From a Qualitative Study

The main purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore Jordanian parents understanding of parenting. A convenient sample of 110 Jordanian parents recruited from four health centers participated in the study. A semi-structured one-on-one interview with open-ended questions was used to collect the data. Three thematic areas reflecting parent understands of parenting were identified; parenting as embraced by Islam, transferring of cultural values and traditions, and parenting as a challenge. Parenting behavior and its effectiveness are reflected by the strong interplay of Islamic teachings, socio-cultural values and traditions in addition to the challenges and difficulties of being a parent. As the ultimate goal of parenting is to promote the wellbeing and the development of children, it is crucial that health care providers involved in the design and delivery of family and children's services have a thorough understanding of how parents perceive parenting and how their understanding can be integrated in programs to enhance parental roles.

The Arabic version of the Parental Stressor Scale: psychometric properties and Jordanian parents’ stress during child admission to PICU

This paper presents an exploration of the validity and reliability of the translated Arabic version of the original English version of the Parental Stressor Scale: Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PSS: PICU) with a sample of Jordanian parents of children admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit. Three hundred and fifty parents were recruited to the study. The PSS: PICU was completed by parents within 15 minutes. Data were collected from parents ( N = 350) from different governmental, private and educational hospitals in Amman, Jordan. Subscales measuring stress from Child’s Appearance, Procedures, Sights and Sounds, Staff Communication, Staff Behavior, Parental Role, and Child’s Behavior and Emotions showed a range of responses and showed good internal consistency. Parents in this study perceived stress from various sources during their child’s hospitalisation. The dimensions ranked most stressful in the PICU were procedures (mean = 3.8, standard deviation, SD = 1.11), the child’s behaviors and emotions (mean = 3.72, SD = 1.04) and child’s appearance (mean = 3.71, SD = 0.75). The least listed stressful items were behaviors of professional staff in the unit (mean = 2.19, SD = 0.73), and staff communication in the unit (mean = 2.25, SD = 0.81). The reported elevated levels of parental stress underscores the importance of ongoing screening for factors impacting on psychological well-being and the inclusion of this information in education and counseling strategies in the inpatient settings. Consideration of areas of parent education regarding stressful ICU environment, and children’s behavioral and emotional reaction to hospitalisation could help reduce stress for Jordanian parents.

Review: The Arabic version of the Parental Stressor Scale: psychometric properties and Jordanian parents’ stress during child admission to PICU

Review: The Arabic version of the Parental Stressor Scale: psychometric properties and Jordanian parents’ stress during child admission to PICU

Having a child with asthma—Quality of life for Jordanian parents

This study was conducted to assess the quality of life (QoL) of Jordanian parents of children with asthma and its associated factors. Three hundred and twenty-six parents of 200 children participated in the study. The Pediatric Asthma Caregivers' Quality of Life Questionnaire (PACQLQ) was used to measure how parents of children with asthma disease impaired their daily life during the previous week on two domains 'activity limitations' and 'emotional function'. In this study, parents of children with asthma scored their QoL during the past week moderately to the positive end of the scale but they scored more limitations in the domain of activities than in emotions. Parents in the same family scored activity domain fairly similar and there was a significant difference in their scoring of total emotional function. Parents with older children, living in the rural areas, mothers of children with mild asthma were associated with higher QoL. Children received needed daily asthma medication during the preceding week. Asthma medication might mean to the parents that the child was getting the best possible treatment. Further studies to identify the factors that influence QoL of parents of children with asthma in Jordan are needed.

Development of a Modified Instrument to Measure Anticipatory Grieving in Jordanian Parents of Children Diagnosed With Cancer

The purpose of this article is to report on the development and field testing for validity and reliability of a modified version of the Marwit and Meuser Caregiver Inventory (MM-CGI) for the assessment of anticipatory grief among Jordanian parents of children with cancer (the MM-CGI Childhood Cancer). In 2006, a 50-item MM-CGI Childhood Cancer was administered to 140 Jordanian parents living with a child with cancer. The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the total instrument was .95, and Cronbach alpha coefficients for each of the 3 subscales was .91 for personal sacrifice burden, .90 for heartfelt sadness and longing, and .86 for worry and felt isolation. The construct validity of this instrument was supported by demonstrating a significant and positive correlation with the Anticipatory Grief Scale. The MM-CGI Childhood Cancer demonstrated strong convergent validity and excellent internal consistency reliability. However, further testing with a larger sample to facilitate factor analysis is needed to complete the validation process.

Parents’ and teachers’ contributions to identifying the unusual behavioural patterns of mathematically gifted children with learning difficulties (MG/LD) in Jordan

The purpose of this research was to examine the Jordanian parents’ and teachers’ contributions to identify the special behavioural characteristics of mathematically gifted children with learning difficulties (MG/LD), namely ‘dual-exceptional’ students. Structured and semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents and teachers. In the first stage, teachers and parents were asked to answer specific questions written as a questionnaire. The parents were given a Case History Form to complete; whilst the teachers were given a Form about the student’s academic level, special interests, and behavioural patterns. In the second stage, they were asked to talk about issues that they felt were significant in relation to the development and education of the child concerned. The outcomes from the interviews stressed the essential contribution of parents and teachers in providing information about the psychological and behavioural histories of the students. The outcomes of parents’ and teachers’ interviews were found the chief source of information about the unusual behavioural patterns of the MG/LD children. However, teachers were found to be less able to identify these behavioural patterns.