Parental stress in families of children with special educational needs: a systematic review

BackgroundThis systematic review aimed to identify the risk factors and protective factors for parental stress in families with children with special educational needs. Studies have indicated that the wellbeing of families is related to the physical, psychological, and social conditions of the child...

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Main Authors: Andrew W. Y. Cheng, Cynthia Y. Y. Lai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychiatry
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1198302/full
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author Andrew W. Y. Cheng
Cynthia Y. Y. Lai
author_facet Andrew W. Y. Cheng
Cynthia Y. Y. Lai
author_sort Andrew W. Y. Cheng
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundThis systematic review aimed to identify the risk factors and protective factors for parental stress in families with children with special educational needs. Studies have indicated that the wellbeing of families is related to the physical, psychological, and social conditions of the children, as well as the family functioning, stress coping strategies, and social and professional support of their parents. The parents of children with special educational needs experience high levels of parental stress. Identifying the associated risk factors and protective factors may shed light on the provision of interventions to promote the mental wellbeing of these parents.MethodsBoolean operators were used to search multiple online databases, and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were applied in this systematic review. Data were extracted into categories of population, age, region, the child's diagnosis, the stress-measuring instrument, and the risk factors and protective factors.ResultsTwenty-six studies, including 5,169 parents and 3,726 children, were reviewed. The following four major risk factors and protective factors were found to be associated with parental stress: the sex of the parents, diagnosis-related coping issues, socioeconomic characteristics, and social isolation of the parents.ConclusionsThis systematic review identified four significant risk factors and protective factors related to social support from couples, family members, and social circles. Various agencies may provide financial and manpower assistance and professional support and services to improve the parents' knowledge and coping skills, as well as affectional support, early screening, and continuous assessment of the parents' progress. Social policies and interventions offering continuous and diagnosis-related support to the parents of children with special educational needs are highly recommended.
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spelling doaj.art-7fd31a4b059a4acc8d5bb7edbafef52e2023-08-10T22:49:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402023-08-011410.3389/fpsyt.2023.11983021198302Parental stress in families of children with special educational needs: a systematic reviewAndrew W. Y. ChengCynthia Y. Y. LaiBackgroundThis systematic review aimed to identify the risk factors and protective factors for parental stress in families with children with special educational needs. Studies have indicated that the wellbeing of families is related to the physical, psychological, and social conditions of the children, as well as the family functioning, stress coping strategies, and social and professional support of their parents. The parents of children with special educational needs experience high levels of parental stress. Identifying the associated risk factors and protective factors may shed light on the provision of interventions to promote the mental wellbeing of these parents.MethodsBoolean operators were used to search multiple online databases, and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were applied in this systematic review. Data were extracted into categories of population, age, region, the child's diagnosis, the stress-measuring instrument, and the risk factors and protective factors.ResultsTwenty-six studies, including 5,169 parents and 3,726 children, were reviewed. The following four major risk factors and protective factors were found to be associated with parental stress: the sex of the parents, diagnosis-related coping issues, socioeconomic characteristics, and social isolation of the parents.ConclusionsThis systematic review identified four significant risk factors and protective factors related to social support from couples, family members, and social circles. Various agencies may provide financial and manpower assistance and professional support and services to improve the parents' knowledge and coping skills, as well as affectional support, early screening, and continuous assessment of the parents' progress. Social policies and interventions offering continuous and diagnosis-related support to the parents of children with special educational needs are highly recommended.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1198302/fullparental stressspecial educational needsparental stress assessment toolsystematic reviewcoping
spellingShingle Andrew W. Y. Cheng
Cynthia Y. Y. Lai
Parental stress in families of children with special educational needs: a systematic review
Frontiers in Psychiatry
parental stress
special educational needs
parental stress assessment tool
systematic review
coping
title Parental stress in families of children with special educational needs: a systematic review
title_full Parental stress in families of children with special educational needs: a systematic review
title_fullStr Parental stress in families of children with special educational needs: a systematic review
title_full_unstemmed Parental stress in families of children with special educational needs: a systematic review
title_short Parental stress in families of children with special educational needs: a systematic review
title_sort parental stress in families of children with special educational needs a systematic review
topic parental stress
special educational needs
parental stress assessment tool
systematic review
coping
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1198302/full
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