Maternal Mental Health of Children with Special Needs

Purpose: Having a child with special needs can put a significant strain on a family and have a detrimental effect on everyone's quality of life. Therefore, mothers require resilience to lessen the impact of such challenges and setbacks. The purpose of this research was to examine depression, anxiety, and stress levels, as well as the impact of social support, among mothers raising children with disabilities. Methodology: All UAE mothers with children who have special needs were included in the statistical sample. Purposive (Non-random) sampling was used to choose 200 willing participants for the sample. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support were used as research instruments. Findings: SPSS (version 26) was used for the statistical analysis through which it was observed that mothers of challenged children were more likely to report lower levels of social support and a higher prevalence of mental health problems such as sadness, anxiety, and stress. Additionally, Pearson correlation analysis showed that stress, anxiety, and sadness were positively and significantly related. Furthermore, linear regression analysis revealed that mothers' social support accounts for explaining and predicting 63% of the variance in their mental health problems associated with raising a child with special needs. The results were presented with the help of tables. Recommendations: Future research on the psychological and social well-being of mothers and the impact of mental health-care support on the well-being of mothers having special children should be conducted. The research will help in spreading awareness among people for prioritizing the mental health support of mothers of children with special needs.