Perceived stress, perceived social support, and wellbeing among mothers of school‐aged children with cerebral palsy

Abstract

Background The study considers how severity of disability, perceived stress, and perceived social support impact on the wellbeing of a group of mothers caring for school‐aged children with cerebral palsy.

Method Forty‐three mothers attending clinics at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia were interviewed and completed the Profile of Adaptation to Life Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support.

Results The results confirmed that severity of disability was not significantly related to maternal wellbeing, but that perceived stress and perceived social support significantly predicted wellbeing, both independently and together.

Conclusion Social support was found to have a slight to moderate role in mediating the impact of stress on these mothers.

Keywords:

• Cerebral palsy
• children
• stress
• wellbeing
• social support
• mother