RESILIENCE AND PARENTING STRESS IN MOTHERS OF CHILDREN WITH MENTAL RETARDATION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The mental health of parents of children with special needs during the COVID-19 pandemic requires attention. The social restrictions enforced due to the pandemic triggered increased parenting stress in mothers of children with mental retardation. Mothers have multiple roles, not only as caregivers but also as therapists and educators who replace teachers in school. An individual’s level of maternal resilience affects how good their coping management is at overcoming the stress they experience. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of resilience and parenting stress experienced by mothers of children with mental retardation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cross-sectional research design was used. The population in this study were mothers of a child with mental retardation who attended the Pembina Special School in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The purposive sampling technique was applied to 38 respondents. The One-Way ANOVA test results showed that the p-value was 0.001 < 0.05, which means that resilience levels are influenced by parenting stress experienced by mothers of children with mental retardation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The level of maternal parenting stress is in the low category, but the resilience of the mother is in the moderate category.