The Influence Of Parenting Stress On Inhibition And Control Of Children With Mental Retardation: Mediating Role Of Parenting Style

Family environment is one of the main factors affecting the development of children. Parenting stress, parenting style and co-parenting are related to the development of children closely. This research adopted the method of combining the questionnaire and experiment, investigated 115 mental retarded children and their parents to study the basic characteristics of parenting stress and parenting styles. Three experiments were used to test children’s inhibitory control ability, including day and night task, hand game and fruit game. The study aimed to discuss the relationship between parenting stress, parenting style, co-parenting and mental retarded children’s inhibitory control ability. Basic on this research, it can be concluded that:(1)Mental retarded children’s parents experienced some degree of parenting stress, the stress of younger children’s parents are significantly higher than the older ones. Stress of Parents with lower income is significantly higher than parents with higher income. Stress of parents with lower education level is significantly higher than parents with higher education level.(2)Mental retarded children’ parents adopted democracy parenting style mostly. In democracy parenting dimension, the scores of parents with higher education level is significant higher than the lower education level ones.(3)co-parenting exists between mothers and fathers of mental retarded children, parents sense the supportive behaviors more than the unsupportive behavior The co-parenting level in fathers with higher education level is significantly higher the lower ones.(4)The inhibitory control ability of older children is significantly higher than the younger ones. The inhibitory control ability of retarded children has no significant difference in gender.(5)Democracy parenting could significantly positively predict inhibitory control ability of retarded children. Supported co-parenting could significantly positively predict inhibitory control ability of retarded children. Parenting stress could significantly negatively predict supported co-parenting.(6)Democracy parenting mediate the relationship of Parenting stress and inhibitory control ability of retarded children. Un-supported co-parenting mediate the relationship of Parenting stress and inhibitory control ability of retarded children.