Stressors, coping strategies and sources of support of single mothers of children with mental retardation: Bases for a proposed stress management program

This study dealt with the development of a stress management program based on the coping experience of single mothers having a child with mental retardation. This research looked into their stressors, coping strategies and sources of support. The present investigation used the descriptive research using a researcher-developed questionnaire. The data were analyzed relative to the profile of the single mothers, profile of the child with mental retardation, stress, sources of support and coping strategies. The findings were used as bases for the development of a stress management program. The findings revealed that the stressors of single mothers are under the physical, emotional, social and financial sources, the physical source being the most stressful. Furthermore, coping strategies used may be cognitive and behavioral with behavioral being the most effective in helping them to cope. It was also further discovered that the respondents have different kinds of life experiences. They used various coping mechanisms based on their family characteristics and sources of stress. Based on the findings, the researcher proposed a stress management program for single mothers of mentally retarded children that aims to expand their quality of life by reducing their stress and provide them with coping strategies that will enable them to handle the challenges of raising a child with exceptionalities specifically mental retardation