PARENTING STRESS: COMPARISON BETWEEN PARENTS OF ATYPICAL CHILDREN AND TYPICAL CHILDREN

Abstract

Parenting stress is experienced when demand exceeds the capabilities and resources that parents have. This study aims to compare the level of parental stress between parents of atypical children and typical children. A survey has been conducted with 46 parents of atypical children and 54 parents of typical children who were selected around Selangor. The Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF), which is formed from three domains: (1) parental distress, (2) parent-child dysfunctional interaction, and (3) difficult child, has been used to measure the level of parenting stress. The samples were asked to fill out the PSI-SF questionnaire, and the data collected was then analyzed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 27.0. The result showed that there was a significant difference in parenting stress levels between parents of atypical children and typical children. The mental health of atypical parents is greatly affected not only by the stress of daily life, work, marital problems, interpersonal relationships, and so on. Many of them also feel lonely and isolated since their worries and anxiety are not being understood. The implication of this study is to create awareness among parents of atypical children about their state of mental health before it reaches levels of depression. Therefore, appropriate support and assistance are needed by this group of parents in order to improve their quality of life and family relationships.