ISSN 0303-5212
 

Original Research 
RMJ. 2021; 46(2): 381-385


Psychosocial distress among parents of children with intellectual disabilities

Saima Waqar, Ghowash Irshad, Bushra Hassan.

Abstract
Objective: To develop a valid and reliable indigenous scale for the assessment of psychosocial distress among the parents due to having an intellectually disabled child in the family.
Methodology: Data were collected at the Department of Psychology, National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM) and Special Education Center, Rawalpindi. The study was divided into two phases. In phase I, a culturally relevant item pool was generated through extensive literature review and conducting qualitative interviews with parents of intellectually disabled children. In phase II, 41 items measuring psychosocial distress and a Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) were administered on 100 parents. We tested the factorial structure, internal consistency and validity of the scale.
Results: Five factors were extracted measuring different dimensions of psychosocial distress including emotional distress, social and personal constrains, marital conflicts, lack of family support, and despair. These factors explained almost 65% of the total variance and comprised of 26 items in total. The scale has acceptable Cronbach’s alpha (.93). Convergent validity of psychosocial distress scale with DASS-21 showed a positive association between the two.
Conclusion: This indigenously developed psychosocial distress scale can be used to assess the psychosocial distress among parents of children with intellectual disabilities. The study may provide basis to develop counseling cells/setups for parents of intellectually disabled children.

Key words: Intellectual disability, psychosocial distress, rehabilitation.


 
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Pubmed Style

Waqar S, Irshad G, Hassan B. Psychosocial distress among parents of children with intellectual disabilities. RMJ. 2021; 46(2): 381-385.


Web Style

Waqar S, Irshad G, Hassan B. Psychosocial distress among parents of children with intellectual disabilities. https://www.rmj.org.pk/?mno=74895 [Access: December 05, 2023].


AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Waqar S, Irshad G, Hassan B. Psychosocial distress among parents of children with intellectual disabilities. RMJ. 2021; 46(2): 381-385.



Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Waqar S, Irshad G, Hassan B. Psychosocial distress among parents of children with intellectual disabilities. RMJ. (2021), [cited December 05, 2023]; 46(2): 381-385.



Harvard Style

Waqar, S., Irshad, . G. & Hassan, . B. (2021) Psychosocial distress among parents of children with intellectual disabilities. RMJ, 46 (2), 381-385.



Turabian Style

Waqar, Saima, Ghowash Irshad, and Bushra Hassan. 2021. Psychosocial distress among parents of children with intellectual disabilities. Rawal Medical Journal, 46 (2), 381-385.



Chicago Style

Waqar, Saima, Ghowash Irshad, and Bushra Hassan. "Psychosocial distress among parents of children with intellectual disabilities." Rawal Medical Journal 46 (2021), 381-385.



MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

Waqar, Saima, Ghowash Irshad, and Bushra Hassan. "Psychosocial distress among parents of children with intellectual disabilities." Rawal Medical Journal 46.2 (2021), 381-385. Print.



APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Waqar, S., Irshad, . G. & Hassan, . B. (2021) Psychosocial distress among parents of children with intellectual disabilities. Rawal Medical Journal, 46 (2), 381-385.