Abstract
Mothers of children with special needs are faced with a disproportionate amount of stress directly and indirectly related to parenting a child with special needs. Heightened stress without access to supportive resources can lead to decreased efficacy in parenting abilities, which in turn can influence the quality of parent-child relationship. The purpose of the current study was to examine the interrelationship between maternal stress, efficacy, and support on the parent-child relationship for mothers of children with special needs. Forty-three mothers of children with special needs in the Central Valley area of California completed a Qualtrics survey assessing their reported feelings of stress, perceived levels of support, feelings of efficacy, and the quality of interaction between themselves and their child with special needs. Correlations and regression analyses revealed that maternal stress was associated with support and efficacy and directly predictive of maternal warmth in parent-child interactions. Results are discussed in light of how these results can inform future research as well as practice in providing support for mothers of children with special needs in an attempt to alleviate stress and strengthen the quality of parent-child relationships.