Social Support and the Level of Stress and Relationship Satisfaction in Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Cilj istraživanja bio je ispitati povezanost socijalne podrške i roditeljskog stresa te povezanost socijalne podrške i zadovoljstva partnerskim odnosima kod roditelja djece s teškoćama u razvoju te ispitati pružaju li roditeljima djece s teškoćama u razvoju veću praktičnu pomoć i emocionalnu podršku vlastiti ili partnerovi roditelji. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 248 ispitanika koji su u partnerskom odnosu i žive u istom kućanstvu s partnerom/partnericom te su roditelji djeteta s TUR. Istraživanje se provodilo online putem, metodom kriterijskog uzorkovanja. Rezultati pokazuju statistički značajnu negativnu povezanost između procjene sveukupne podrške i procjene doživljaja roditeljskog stresa, tj. roditelji koji dobivaju veću socijalnu podršku doživljavaju manji roditeljski stres. Nadalje, utvrđena je statistički značajna pozitivna povezanost između procjene sveukupne podrške i zadovoljstva vezom, tj. roditelji koji dobivaju veću podršku procjenjuju i zadovoljstvo vezom većom. U oba slučaja, ističe se podrška partnera i uže obitelji. Isto tako, sudionici procjenju veću sveukupnu, emocionalnu i praktičnu podršku od strane vlastitih roditelja, nego od partnerovih roditelja. Istraživanje ukazuje i na nisko zadovoljstvo roditelja djece s teškoćama u razvoju podrškom od većine izvora. S obzirom na to, naglašava se potreba osvještavanja tog problema i pronalaženja rješenja za povećanje socijalne podrške i zadovoljstva njome. Stručnjaci imaju važnu ulogu u pružanju podrške roditeljima, savjetovanja i daljnjeg usmjeravanja, kao i u osvještavanju faktora koji poboljšavaju kvalitetu veze. Kako bi i djedovi i bake pružali što veću podršku, potrebno je prenijeti im informacije na razumljiv način te pokazati razumijevanje za njihovu potrebu za podrškom.The aim of this research was to examine the correlation between social support and the level of stress, and the correlation between social support and relationship satisfaction in parents of children with developmental disabilities, as well as to examine whether more practical assistance and emotional support is provided by their own or partners’ parents. Research included 248 participants who are in a relationship, share a household with their partner and are parents of children with developmental disabilities. Research was conducted via an online platform. The results indicate a statistically significant negative correlation between estimated overall support and estimated perception of parental stress. In other words, parents who receive greater social support experience less parental stress. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant positive correlation between estimated overall support and relationship satisfaction, that is, those parents who receive greater support are more satisfied with their relationship. In both cases, the emphasis is on support given by the partner and close family. Moreover, results indicate greater contentment with the overall emotional and practical support received from their own parents than from partner's parents. Research also shows low satisfaction of parents of children with disabilities with the support from most sources. In this regard, special emphasis should be given to raising awareness of this issue and finding a solution on how to increase social support and increase satisfaction with the support.The role of experts is of great importance in the context of providing support, counseling and future guidance, as well as highlighting those elements that improve the quality of the relationship. In order for the grandparents to provide as much support as possible, information has to be transferred to them in a transparent way and their need to support should be met with understanding