Types, availability, and perception of social support among parents of young children with cognitive delays in Vietnam.
Parents of young children with disabilities experience increased parenting stress owing to the caregiving demands the children place on them and concern over how they will raise and care for their children in the future. Support or understanding from others can be helpful in relieving the psychological and physical strain that caregivers experience. The project examined the types and availability of social support for Vietnamese parents of young children with cognitive delays, and their perceived social support and parenting stress. Fourteen types of informal support (spouse, wife's father, wife's mother, husband's father, husband's mother, wife's siblings, husband's siblings, sons, daughters, other relatives, friends, neighbors, and parents of other children with disabilities and social helpers) and eight types of professional support (teachers, therapists, doctors, private therapists, home helpers, social agencies, babysitters, and doctors in community health clinics) were available. When the level of intellectual functioning among children was lower, both mothers and fathers reported less availability of support from most types of informal support and teachers. For both mothers and fathers, a larger network of informal and professional support reduced the amount of stress they experienced. Specifically, however, when immediate family members were not available, mothers were more likely to experience parenting stress whereas the unavailability of friends and neighbors increased fathers' parenting stress. While addressing the stigma in society that affects the lives of the families of the children with disabilities in gaining informal support, the need for developing professional services in developing countries is discussed.
Shin
Jin Y
JY
Department of Psychology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York 11549, USA. Jin.Y.Shin@Hofstra.edu
McDonaugh
Renoir G
RG
D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003072:Cognition Disorders; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D012923:Social Class; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D014744:Vietnam