Page No.137-141
Upadhyaya, G.R. and Havalappanavar, N.B
Karnataka Institute of Mental Health, Dharwad Karnatak University, Dharwad
Presence of a mentally retarded child in the family becomes a source of stress.
Support from other family members helps in reducing the stress. Grandparental
support is an important factor in reducing stress. This study evaluates the role of
grandparents in reducing the stress among parents of mentally retarded children.
The 51 pairs of parents of mentally retarded children having grandparents living
with them (17 families with both grandparents,17 having only grandfathers and
17 having only grandmothers) are compared with a matched group of 51 pairs of
parents of mentally retarded children having no grandparental support, regarding
the level of stress caused by the mentally retarded child. Family interview for
stress and coping in mental retardation (FISC-MR) developed by Girimaji, Shobha
Srinath, Shekhar Sheshadri and Subbakrishna (1999) is used for assessment of
stress. These two groups differ significantly regarding the total stress, indicating
reduction in stress due to grandparental support. The effect of grandparental
support is more evident in the areas of care stress and emotional stress, while
influence of grandparental support is not found to be significant in the areas of
social and financial stress. There is no significant difference among the 3 groups
of parents having both grand father and grand mother, grandfather only and
grandmother only. Conclusion is that grandparental support significantly reduces
stress in parents of mentally retarded children.
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