Beyond Caregiving: Socio-demographic Predictors of Stress in Parents of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21338859

Ishika N. Thakkar, Gayatri S. Hegde, and Rashmi A. Appannavar (Department of Clinical Psychology, Dharwad Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Dharwad, Karnataka)

Parenting of children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) is known to be stressful. Beyond child-related factors, the socio-demographic characteristics of parents can intensify or alleviate their parenting stress. However, the nature and clarity regarding the contribution of these factors remain inconclusive. Hence, the current study examined whether the socio-demographic factors meaningfully predict parental stress in this population. A cross-sectional design, involving 150 parents of children with NDD, was employed for this purpose. Data were collected using the Parental Stress Scale (Berry & Jones, 1995) and a structured socio-demographic profile sheet. For data analysis, in addition to descriptive statistics, multiple linear regression was performed. The results suggested that the overall regression model is statistically significant (p= 0.02), explaining 13.6% of the variance in parental stress. Number of children emerged as the only significant predictor, with parents having more than one child reporting higher stress. Findings of age (p = .057) and family type (p = .066) suggested the possibility of relatively higher stress among older parents and those from nuclear families. Other socio-demographic variables, including gender, socio-economic status, working status, and educational qualification, were not significant predictors. The findings reveal that the overall socio-demographic factors showed a statistically significant contribution to parental stress among parents of children with NDD; however, the magnitude of this effect is modest. Nevertheless, these factors may add to the cumulative burden of stress. Given their largely non-modifiable nature, interventions should focus on strengthening contextual supports and policy-level responses.