Abstract
Parenting stress constitutes a major challenge not only to the parents, children,
and families but also to counsellors, special educators, and society at large. It
is worrisome that parents of children with special needs tend to be experiencing
higher stressors which may affect their mental health. This study examined
parental stressors, types of special needs, and psychological wellbeing of parents
of children with special needs in Lagos State, Nigeria. Two research hypotheses
guided this study, and a descriptive survey research design was used in the
study. Three hundred parents of children with special needs were sampled using
a stratified sampling technique (150 mothers and 150 fathers) from fifteen (15)
public and private Special Education Needs Schools (SENS) in Lagos State,
Nigeria. A 30-item researcher-made questionnaire titled Parental Stress and
Psychological Wellbeing Questionnaire (PSPWQ) was used for data collection.
The questionnaire has a reliability coefficient of 0.74. The data collected were
analysed using two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Fisher’s Least Square
Method statistical tools at 0.05 level of significance. Among the analysed results,
the study showed that fathers have significantly higher psychological wellbeing
than mothers. Other results are well captured in the findings. The implications for
counselling were equally discussed based on these findings. The study recommends among others counselling interventions and programs that can reduce parental stress, particularly child-related stressors and promote effective social support to help parents of children with special needs cope with their parental stress.
and families but also to counsellors, special educators, and society at large. It
is worrisome that parents of children with special needs tend to be experiencing
higher stressors which may affect their mental health. This study examined
parental stressors, types of special needs, and psychological wellbeing of parents
of children with special needs in Lagos State, Nigeria. Two research hypotheses
guided this study, and a descriptive survey research design was used in the
study. Three hundred parents of children with special needs were sampled using
a stratified sampling technique (150 mothers and 150 fathers) from fifteen (15)
public and private Special Education Needs Schools (SENS) in Lagos State,
Nigeria. A 30-item researcher-made questionnaire titled Parental Stress and
Psychological Wellbeing Questionnaire (PSPWQ) was used for data collection.
The questionnaire has a reliability coefficient of 0.74. The data collected were
analysed using two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Fisher’s Least Square
Method statistical tools at 0.05 level of significance. Among the analysed results,
the study showed that fathers have significantly higher psychological wellbeing
than mothers. Other results are well captured in the findings. The implications for
counselling were equally discussed based on these findings. The study recommends among others counselling interventions and programs that can reduce parental stress, particularly child-related stressors and promote effective social support to help parents of children with special needs cope with their parental stress.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | African Education and Diaspora Studies |
| Editors | Stella C. Anyama, Samuel O. Adeniyi, Stephen D. Bolaji |
| Place of Publication | Darwin |
| Publisher | Charles Darwin University |
| Chapter | 3 |
| Pages | 33-45 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Edition | 1 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-0-6487995-1-1 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-0-6487995-0-4 |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Jul 2022 |