Mediating Role of Family Burden and Family Stress: Children Disability Type and Parenting Styles

Abstract

Having a child with disability in the family affects mother's family burden (FB), family stress (FS) and parenting styles (PS). The mediating role of FB and FS in the relationship between children`s disability type (CDT) and mothers` PS is examined. 461 mothers having autism spectrum disorder (ASD), physical disability (PDC) and mental retardation (MR) participated in the study. Serial mediator effect, which is one of the mediator model analyzes was used. Mothers of children with ASD and MR, exhibited significantly lower democratic parenting style (DS) than mothers of children with PDC. While FB and FS cumulatively reduce DS in mothers of ASD children, they were found to have a direct effect in mothers of children with MR. In mothers of ASD children, increasing FB indirectly increased authoritarian style (AS) by increasing FS, while in mothers of MR children, the FS effect was more pronounced, while the FB effect was limited. Mothers of ASD and MR children had significantly higher permissive parenting style (PPS) levels than mothers of children with PDC. This was observed through direct and sequential effects in mothers of children with ASD, while in mothers of children with MR, this was more direct and indirectly mediated by FS. Studies and trainings can be planned to reduce the FB and FS levels in the DS of mothers with disabled children.