Caregiver Burden and Coping Strategies among Parents of Special Children

Page: 406-411
Danu Jaffrin A., M. Vinothkumar, and Anjo George (Department of Psychology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu)

Taking care of special children is a more challenging task. Handling a dependent child requires more inner resources and active efforts. Primary caregivers may experience the occurrence of multiple stressors in their day-to-day activities. All the stressors may enhance or worsen the caregiver’s survival journey in a short period. All these hardships may affect their level of care for the children and also affect their functional areas, such as family, work, and social relations. To overcome these difficulties, caregivers use different strategies, and coping is one of them. The selection and use of appropriate coping mechanisms are essential in their lives. It is important to explore what kind of coping mechanism is more effective for primary caregivers and what is not accurate to them. The goal of the present study is to understand the relationship between caregiver burden and coping strategies among parents of special children. Purposive sampling was adopted, and it included a total sample of 65 in the age range between 22-46. People who belong to the Chennai, Madurai, and Coimbatore districts of Tamil Nadu are considered for the study. The personal data sheet and standardized instruments were used to measure caregiver burden and coping. The study results showed that there is a significant relationship between caregiver burden and coping and that emotion-focused coping significantly predicted caregiver burden. The study results provide an insight into designing an appropriate psychological intervention to improve functional coping and caregiver burden.