Psychosocial Burden in Parents Having Intellectually Disabled Children: A Hospital-based Study
Background: Intellectual disability is a non-communicable health disorder that has become a public health concern worldwide, with a marked impairment in communication, academic, and social skills. It is important to identify the level of psychological stress among parents of these children. Hence, t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Indian Journal of Community Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/ijcm.ijcm_358_23 |
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| author | Reena Kumari Tapas Kumar Ray Ananya Ray Laskar Ritu Majumdar |
| author_facet | Reena Kumari Tapas Kumar Ray Ananya Ray Laskar Ritu Majumdar |
| author_sort | Reena Kumari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background:
Intellectual disability is a non-communicable health disorder that has become a public health concern worldwide, with a marked impairment in communication, academic, and social skills. It is important to identify the level of psychological stress among parents of these children. Hence, this study was designed to assess the level of psychological stress among parents having intellectually disabled children.
Materials and Methods:
The study was conducted in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation outpatient department (OPD) at Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital, New Delhi. Data were collected to analyze the psychological stress in families. Parental Stress Scale (PSS) was used as the tool to measure stress in parents.
Results:
A total of 170 mothers were enrolled in the study. In total, 14 different variables were considered plausible contributing factors to the mother’s stress. Four variables demonstrated a clear linear association between variable values and PSS. These variables were a) per-capita monthly family income, b) socioeconomic status, c) study subjects’ occupation, and d) duration of disability. The overall mean PSS for the entire cohort was found to be 47.14 ± 2.93. The reference criteria for low stress was 19–45, and it was 45–90 for high stress.
Conclusion:
The study suggests that mothers of children with intellectual disability experience high stress. Raising a child with special care needs is overwhelming for mothers. Appropriate clinical services should be provided to support parents of children with disabilities and offer resources to educate and enable mothers to manage their children’s disabilities and needs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-00e0b8dfae544562a766c0825b4cc48c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0970-0218 1998-3581 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Indian Journal of Community Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-00e0b8dfae544562a766c0825b4cc48c2025-02-06T05:32:49ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsIndian Journal of Community Medicine0970-02181998-35812025-01-01501909210.4103/ijcm.ijcm_358_23Psychosocial Burden in Parents Having Intellectually Disabled Children: A Hospital-based StudyReena KumariTapas Kumar RayAnanya Ray LaskarRitu MajumdarBackground: Intellectual disability is a non-communicable health disorder that has become a public health concern worldwide, with a marked impairment in communication, academic, and social skills. It is important to identify the level of psychological stress among parents of these children. Hence, this study was designed to assess the level of psychological stress among parents having intellectually disabled children. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation outpatient department (OPD) at Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital, New Delhi. Data were collected to analyze the psychological stress in families. Parental Stress Scale (PSS) was used as the tool to measure stress in parents. Results: A total of 170 mothers were enrolled in the study. In total, 14 different variables were considered plausible contributing factors to the mother’s stress. Four variables demonstrated a clear linear association between variable values and PSS. These variables were a) per-capita monthly family income, b) socioeconomic status, c) study subjects’ occupation, and d) duration of disability. The overall mean PSS for the entire cohort was found to be 47.14 ± 2.93. The reference criteria for low stress was 19–45, and it was 45–90 for high stress. Conclusion: The study suggests that mothers of children with intellectual disability experience high stress. Raising a child with special care needs is overwhelming for mothers. Appropriate clinical services should be provided to support parents of children with disabilities and offer resources to educate and enable mothers to manage their children’s disabilities and needs.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/ijcm.ijcm_358_23disabilityindiaintellectual disabilitypsychological stress |
| spellingShingle | Reena Kumari Tapas Kumar Ray Ananya Ray Laskar Ritu Majumdar Psychosocial Burden in Parents Having Intellectually Disabled Children: A Hospital-based Study Indian Journal of Community Medicine disability india intellectual disability psychological stress |
| title | Psychosocial Burden in Parents Having Intellectually Disabled Children: A Hospital-based Study |
| title_full | Psychosocial Burden in Parents Having Intellectually Disabled Children: A Hospital-based Study |
| title_fullStr | Psychosocial Burden in Parents Having Intellectually Disabled Children: A Hospital-based Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Psychosocial Burden in Parents Having Intellectually Disabled Children: A Hospital-based Study |
| title_short | Psychosocial Burden in Parents Having Intellectually Disabled Children: A Hospital-based Study |
| title_sort | psychosocial burden in parents having intellectually disabled children a hospital based study |
| topic | disability india intellectual disability psychological stress |
| url | https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/ijcm.ijcm_358_23 |
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