Impact of Stress on Parenting Style of Parents Child with Intellectual Disability in Odisha

Abstract

Parenting a child with intellectual disability often imposes  significant  psychological  and  emotional strain on parents, influencing both their well-being and  their  parenting  practices.  The  present  study examined the impact of parental stress on parenting styles among parents of children with intellectual disability in Odisha. A total of 80 parents (40 fathers and 40 mothers) were recruited from special schools in  Bhadrak,  Keonjhar,  and  Mayurbhanj  districts using purposive sampling. Data were collected using the Parental Stress Scale (Berry & Jones, 1995) and the  Perceived  Parenting  Style  Scale  (Divya  & Manikandan,  2013).  Statistical  analyses  included independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and chi-square    tests.    Results    revealed    significant variation in stress across parenting styles: parents with  an  authoritative  style  reported  lower  stress, while authoritarian and permissive parents showed higher  stress.  Gender  differences  indicated  that mothers  experienced  higher  stress  than  fathers, though  the  difference  was  marginally  significant. Stress  levels  were  also  strongly  associated  with parenting    styles,    with    authoritative    parents concentrated in the low-stress group. These findings underscore  the  importance  of  supporting  parents through      stress-management      programs      and promoting      adaptive      parenting      approaches, particularly in sociocultural contexts like Odisha.