The Relationship Between Perceived Discrimination And Parenting Stress In Parents Of Children With Developmental Disorders:The Mediating Role Of Psychological Flexibility

Parents of children with developmental disorders not only suffer from the devastating effects of their children’s illnesses,but also have to bear the heavy burden of long-term care,their parenting stress cannot be ignored.Parenting stress is influenced by a variety of factors,especially the perceived discrimination due to their children’s behavioral or linguistic peculiarities,which is an important source of stress.Parents with high psychological flexibility are better able to accept the negative experiences of their child’s illness and adapt to this multi-stressful parenting environment.Three studies were conducted to explore the parenting stress,to examine the mediating effect of psychological flexibility in the relationship between perceived discrimination and parenting stress among parents of children with developmental disorders,and to examine the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in decreasing parenting stress.In Study 1,a qualitative research was used to conduct semi-structured interviews with 19 parents of children with developmental disorders to obtain their descriptions of the stress experienced in parenting their children.The results showed that:(1)the parenting stress of parents of children with developmental disorders included seven themes: "caregiving is difficult and exhausting","shame and self-blame","development is limited and there is no time to take care of themselves","escape from reality","inner pain is difficult to talk about","high costs increase the burden",and "anxious about the present and worried about the future";(2)the parenting stress of parents of children with developmental disorders was mainly manifested in physical,psychological,and behavioral forms,the main influencing factors including social comparison,social support,perceived discrimination,psychological flexibility,and expectations and demands on the child.In Study 2,the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire Second Edition,the Parenting Stress Index Short Form,and the Perceived Discrimination Scale for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders were administered to 167 parents of children with developmental disorders to explore the relationship between perceived discrimination,psychological flexibility and parenting stress of parents of children with developmental disorders,and to further validate the results obtained in Study 1.The results showed that:(1)perceived discrimination was significantly and positively related to parenting stress,psychological flexibility was significantly and negatively related to perceived discrimination and parenting stress;(2)psychological flexibility partially mediated the relationship between perceived discrimination and parenting stress.In Study 3,nine parents of children with developmental disorders with high levels of parenting stress were recruited from a rehabilitation training facility to undergo Acceptance and Commitment Therapy group counseling with the primary goal of increasing psychological disorders.The results showed that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy was effective in increasing the psychological flexibility of parents of children with developmental disorders,thereby reducing their parenting stress.In conclusion,the parenting stress experienced by parents of children with developmental disorders is multiple and influenced by factors such as perceived discrimination and psychological flexibility,which can be alleviated by increasing their psychological flexibility.