Differences in levels of parental stress among mothers of learning disabled, emotionally impaired, and regular school children.

Abstract

This study examined the stress among mothers of children in regular and special education. The sample of 45 mothers had children enrolled in public schools from Kindergarten to Grade 8. To three groups, Group 1 of mothers with children in regular education, Group 2 of mothers with children classified as learning disabled, and Group 3 of mothers with children classified as emotionally impaired, the Parenting Stress Index was given to examine whether differences in stress among groups were significant. An analysis of variance and Tukey's HSD indicated significant differences in the Child Domain and on certain child subscales (Acceptability, Mood, Distractibility, Reinforcement), with Group 3 scoring significantly higher than Group 1. Groups 2 and 3 scored significantly higher on the Total Child Domain than Group 1. Group 3 also scored higher than Group 1 on the Parent Domain and on the sum of both domains.