Abstract
Research evidence indicates that parents of children with intellectual disabilities are exposed to a host of stressful life events while caring for their children with intellectual disabilities. The purpose of this study was then to determine the effectiveness of the Positive Parenting Program (Triple-P) in enabling mothers to manage stress related to parenting a child with intellectual disability (ID). Additionally, the study also aimed at assessing the impact of Triple-P in improving the relationship between a mother and a child with an intellectual disability. Quasi-experimental Design (with Pretest-Posttest Control Group approach) was used to test the effectiveness of the intervention. Parental Stress Scale (PSS) and Parent-Child Relationship Scale (PCRS) were administered to 28 mothers of children with intellectual disabilities before and after the intervention to gather data on the level of stress, conflict, closeness, dependency, and positive relationship. An equal number (n=14) of mothers were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in 8 sessions of Tipple-P, but the control group did not. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, matched sample t-test, and Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) were used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that mothers in the treatment group showed a significant decrease in stress levels compared to the comparison group. Furthermore, mothers in the experimental group demonstrated statistically significant improvement in their relationship with the intellectually disabled children compared to the control group. However, closeness and dependency were the only two main contributors to the variance in the relationship and their contribution was statistically significant. In conclusion, Triple-P was found to be effective in improving the mother-child relationship and managing the stress of mothers of children with intellectual disabilities.
