Parental burnout as a health determinant in mothers raising disabled children

Abstract

Background: Material and methods: Results: Conclusions: The aim of the study was to determine and compare the current risk of parental burnout in mothers of children with autism and with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities. ‪The study was conducted among 30 mothers of children with autism, 30 mothers of children with moderate intellectual disabilities and 20 mothers of children with mild intellectual disabilities. A diagnostic survey was the research method, a survey was the technique used, and the Parental Burnout Questionnaire by M. Sekułowicz and P. Kwiatkowski was the applied research tool. ‪The average level of parental burnout risk significantly differentiates the investigated mothers due to the type of the child’s disability. The lowest risk of parental burnout is shown in mothers of children with autism, a slightly higher risk is characteristic of mothers of children with moderate and mild intellectual disabilities, respectively. ‪Mothers of children with autism and with moderate and mild intellectual disabilities show a low level of the parental burnout risk, which may indicate they are about to achieve the stage of constructive adaptation to the situation of having a child with a disability.