Stress and Coping Strategies in Parents of Children with Physical, Mental, and Hearing Disabilities in Jordan

This research aimed to investigate levels of stress in parents of children with disabilities in Jordan, and coping strategies they used to handle these stresses. An Arabic translation of Parental Stress Scale (Berry, & Jones, 1995) and Coping Strategies Inventory (Tobin, et al., 1989) were used on a sample of 134 parents of children with physical, mental, and hearing disabilities enrolled in diurnal special education centers. The results indicted high levels of stress experienced by parents of children with disabilities; Parents of children with physical disability tend to have the highest levels of stress, while parents of children with hearing impairment have the lowest levels of stress. The results also showed that engagement coping strategies were frequently more used in parents, with preference to use problem focused engagement strategies more than emotion focused engagement strategies. In the other hand, fathers of children with disabilities preferred to use engagement strategies more likely than mothers who preferred disengagement strategies. And finally, the results indicated high positive and significant correlation and acceptable predictable relation between levels of stress and coping strategies. 

This research aimed to investigate levels of stress in parents of children with disabilities in Jordan, and coping strategies they used to handle these stresses. An Arabic translation of Parental Stress Scale (Berry, & Jones, 1995) and Coping Strategies Inventory (Tobin, et al., 1989) were used on a sample of 134 parents of children with physical, mental, and hearing disabilities enrolled in diurnal special education centers. The results indicted high levels of stress experienced by parents of children with disabilities; Parents of children with physical disability tend to have the highest levels of stress, while parents of children with hearing impairment have the lowest levels of stress. The results also showed that engagement coping strategies were frequently more used in parents, with preference to use problem focused engagement strategies more than emotion focused engagement strategies. In the other hand, fathers of children with disabilities preferred to use engagement strategies more likely than mothers who preferred disengagement strategies. And finally, the results indicated high positive and significant correlation and acceptable predictable relation between levels of stress and coping strategies.