Mapping the Interplay of Social Stigma, Parental Stress, Quality of Life, and Coping Mechanisms in Parents of IDC: A Correlational Study

There are several pressures associated with raising a child with intellectual disabilities (ID), which can harm parents' physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Given that there has been limited exploration in our society of the stress level in such parents, along with associated stigmas and their life quality, there is a significant need for further investigation. The study examined the relationship between social stigma, parental stress, and quality of life. A sample of 125 parents, both mothers and fathers, of intellectually disabled children participated. Using a non-probability sampling technique, participants were chosen from both public and private mental health facilities in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Discrimination and Stigma Scale, Parental stress scale, World Health Organization quality of life WHO-QOL BREF, and Brief – Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory were used to gather data. Results showed that social stigma is significant and positively correlated with parental stress, and has a negative significant correlation with quality of life, and is positively correlated with problem-focused coping. Social stigma also depicted a significant positive correlation with emotion-focused coping and a significant negative correlation with avoidant coping. Parental stress also showed a significant negative correlation with quality of life. It is positively related to problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping. Quality of life shows strong positive significance with problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping. Problem-focused coping is significantly negatively correlated with emotion-focused coping. Emotion-focused coping has a significant positive correlation with avoidant coping. The t-test results showed significant differences in social stigma and parental stress among the joint and nuclear family systems. According to one-way ANOVA results, there is a significant difference in the Social Stigma on different levels of socioeconomic status, while the type of disability also showed significant differences in Parental Stress.