Exploring Stress, Coping, and Social Support among Parents of Children with Disabilities in Chamba, Nanumba North Municipality, Ghana.

Abstract

The term "psychological distress" described a state of emotional suffering marked by anxiety symptoms like tension and restlessness and depression symptoms like lost interest and hopelessness. Given that raising children with special needs can present numerous challenges, parents of these children are likely to be more vulnerable to psychological distress. These parents would endure high levels of stress and often become depressed, frustrated, and disappointed with their children's development due to the long-term problems of children with mental retardation and physical-motor disorders and the requirement for ongoing treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine the types of psychological distress experienced by parents of special needs children as well as the correlation between these parents' psychological distress and demographic factors. In all, 224 parents of children in Chamba with special needs participated. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) was used to gauge the psychological distress of the parents. The findings showed that 21.9% of parents were in mild distress, 21% were in moderate distress, and 36.6% were in severe distress. There was a significant positive correlation between the degree of psychological distress and the parent's employment status (r=0.148, N=224, p<0.05). There was no discernible relationship between the severity of psychological distress and the other factors, including parent age, parent gender, child age and diagnosis, parent marital status, and parent educational attainment. To sum up, the majority of parents were experiencing psychological distress. However, the only factor that had been shown to affect parents' psychological distress was their employment status.