Relationship between Parental Stress and the socioeconomic characteristics of parents of children with special needs.

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Published: May 5, 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17060/ijodaep.2018.n1.v3.1259
Keywords:
parental stress children with special needs mental health

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Maria Augusta Romão Veiga - Branco
Instituto Politécnico de Bragança Reserach in Education and Community Intervention
Maria Isabel Barreiro Ribeiro
Instituto Politécnico de Bragança Centro de Investigação de Montanha
Celeste da Cruz Meirinho Antão
Instituto Politécnico de Bragança
Zélia Caçador Anastácio
Universidade do Minho

Abstract

Introduction: There is a relationship between parental stress, family well-being and bio-psychological development of the children. An increased risk of developing physical-psychological pathology is associated with parents of children with special needs (CSN).
Objetives: To determine the level of stress in CSN parents and to identify socioeconomic characteristics that may be associated with high levels of stress.
Methods: An observational, cross-sectional and analytical study was performed based on a nonrandom sample of 274 CSN parents in Portugal. Data were collected from April to October 2017. As a tool for data collection, a questionnaire was used that included questions of socioeconomic nature and the Parental Stress Scale (PSS) consisting of 18 items, evaluated on a Likert scale that varies from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree). The stress score resulted from the sum of all items and, later, it was classified taking into account the following cutoff points: Low: 18-40; moderate: 41-66 and high: 67-90.
Results: Parents that respond to the questionnaire were, mainly, female (65%), with a mean age of 40.5 years old (SD = 8.25), from Bragança or Porto districts (73.4%), with 12 years of schooling (56.2 %), married (61.3%), full-time occupation (71.9%), monthly income ≤ 1200 euros per month (46.7%). The level of parental stress ranged from low (10.6%), moderate (46.7%) to high (42%). There were, statistically, significant associations between the level of parental stress and the variables: district of residence, marital status and household income. The proportion of parents with high stress levels was higher in: Guarda, Viseu, Castelo Branco and Faro districts; couples in a stable relation or divorced; in households with monthly income ≤ to national minimum wage (557 euros per month). Conclusion: Parental stress should be the focus of implementation of actions promoting the healthy development of CSN.

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How to Cite
Romão Veiga - Branco, M. A., Barreiro Ribeiro, M. I., da Cruz Meirinho Antão, C., & Caçador Anastácio, Z. (2018). Relationship between Parental Stress and the socioeconomic characteristics of parents of children with special needs. International Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology. Revista INFAD De Psicología., 3(1), 219–228. https://doi.org/10.17060/ijodaep.2018.n1.v3.1259
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Vol. 3 No. 1 (2018): PSYCHOLOGY AND CURRENT VALUES
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Articles
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