Stress and burdens in parents of children who came to Child Psychiatric Clinic of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.

Abstract

Background : It is widely accepted that parents of children with mental illness are vulnerable to stress. However, few studies have been conducted to identify the relationship between the stress level and the burden in parents of children who come to the Child Psychiatric Clinic. Understanding the stress and its related factors is important to help provide better resources and supports to parents.

Objective : To determine the stress level, the relationship between stress and burdens and to study factors associate with the stress and burden levels.

Design : A cross – sectional descriptive study.

Setting : King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.

Materials and Methods : Data were collected from 108 parents of children who came to the Child Psychiatric Clinic of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. Participants completed four questionnaires; 1) a demographic data questionnaire 2) the Thai stress test questionnaire 3) the social support questionnaire and, 4) the Burden Interview. Data were analyzed by mean, percentage, standard deviation, Independence t-test, One way ANOVA, Chi-square and Pearson’s correlation by using SPSS program.

Results : The results of the study were as follows, 41.7% of the subjects had stress in the mild level and 51.9% had burdens in the low level. Stress and burdens had positive correlation in the linear fashion at p = 0.01. Stress and social support had negative correlation at p = 0.01. Burdens and social support had negative correlation at p = 0.01. The factor which was associated with the level of stress was the symptom severity (as perceived by parents). Factors associated with the level of burdens included religion, career, time spent in caring for the child, the number of children and the severity of symptoms (as perceived by parents) and the types of treatment.

Conclusion : Caring for a child suffering from mental illness can significantly affect numerous areas of a parent’s life, including mental and physical health, work, and social and family relationships. Knowledge about stress level and associated factors is useful for parents and medical staff.