Perceived Social Support And Parenting Stress Among Indonesian Family Caregivers Of Persons With Disabilities: Do Sources Of Support Matter?

Family caregivers of persons with disabilities may experience substantial parenting demands, making interpersonal resources such as perceived social support potentially important for their adjustment. This study examined the association between perceived social support and parenting stress among Indonesian family caregivers of persons with disabilities and explored whether support from family, friends, or a significant other showed the strongest relationship with lower parenting stress. A cross-sectional design was used. Participants were recruited through nonprobability purposive sampling in a community-based program conducted by Universitas Tarumanagara in collaboration with the Indonesian National Commission on Disabilities. Valid data from 152 caregivers were analyzed. Perceived social support was assessed using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, whereas parenting stress was measured using the Indonesian adaptation of the Parental Stress Scale. Participants generally reported high perceived social support and relatively low parenting stress. Perceived social support was negatively associated with parenting stress, rs = −.388, p < .001, and significantly predicted parenting stress, β = −.422, p < .001, accounting for 17.8% of its variance. Support from family, friends, and significant others was negatively associated with parenting stress. Support from a significant other showed the strongest observed association and remained the only significant unique predictor when the three sources were examined simultaneously, β = −.302, p = .010. These findings suggest that perceived social support represents an important interpersonal resource in disability caregiving, while highlighting the potential relevance of dependable, personally meaningful relationships. Longitudinal research is needed to clarify temporal and causal pathways.