Parent involvement: Relationship of parent participation, and stress, coping, and satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to determine if there were relationships between parental participation in parent involvement activities and stress, coping strategies and satisfaction with parent involvement activities. The relationships among stress, coping and satisfaction were also determined. The study involved 101 participants who were parents of children, 3-to-5-years of age, with handicaps. The children were enrolled in the Lincoln Public Schools Early Childhood Special Education Program. Information concerning the parents\u27 stress, coping strategies and satisfaction with parent involvement activities was gathered through three questionnaires: the Parenting Stress Index, the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales, and the Family Satisfaction Scale. Participation by parents in parent involvement activities was tallied by the teachers in the Early Childhood Special Education Program using the Parent Participation Log. Correlation coefficients and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. Teacher-initiated participation and total participation were correlated with child stress. No significant relationships were found between participation and coping or between participation and satisfaction. A negative relationship was found between parent stress and coping and between total stress and coping. Negative correlation coefficients also occurred between parent stress and reframing (the parent\u27s perceptual orientation toward stressful experiences) and total stress and reframing. Parent stress and total stress were negatively correlated with satisfaction. A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that stress, coping and satisfaction with parent involvement activities were not predictors of parental participation in parent involvement activities. However, total stress was found to be a significant predictor of satisfaction. Total coping and satisfaction were positively correlated, while a significant negative correlation coefficient occurred between reframing and satisfaction. Parent training may need to focus on assisting parents in acquiring specific coping strategies. Assessing each family\u27s strengths and allowing families the choice of whether or not to participate in parent involvement activities may result in goal-specific training which meets the needs of individual families