Parents' attitude towards children and adolescents with intellectual developmental disorder.

Abstract

The study attempted to explore the attitude of parents towards their mentally retarded children. The sample consisted of 66 parents of children with intellectual developmental disorder (IDD) receiving mental health services from two daycare centers. An attitude questionnaire was administered on the parents who were involved in the care and rehabilitation of the child. The questionnaire comprised of fifty statements of a Likert-type scale and it served as the measuring instrument. Questions were designed to provide information on parents' behavior, perception, reaction, values, and feelings. The important themes that emerged out of the questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results indicated that the parents, though had love and acceptance towards their children, but were frustrated, disappointed, and highly overprotective. This was a significant deterrent factor in the child's adaptive functioning and development of his/her independent living skills.