Open AccessDistress of J apanese parents of children with intellectual disabilities: Correlations with age of parent and negative mood regulation expectancies
Author(s) -
Kono Keiko,
Mearns Jack
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
japanese psychological research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.392
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1468-5884
pISSN - 0021-5368
DOI - 10.1111/jpr.12027
Subject(s) - psychology , distress , coping (psychology) , somatization , anxiety , mood , clinical psychology , negative mood , depressed mood , developmental psychology , psychiatry
Parents caring for a child with an intellectual disability ( ID ) face many challenges. Few studies in J apan have focused on parents of children with an ID . We investigated the psychological factors that might help these parents maintain well‐being, in particular negative mood regulation expectancies ( NMRE ). NMRE are beliefs about one's ability to diminish one's negative moods. Research has shown NMRE to buffer the effects of stress: stronger NMRE are associated with less symptoms of distress, including depression and anxiety. We examined the associations of NMRE , coping, and severity of the child's ID with parental distress (somatization, depression, and anxiety) among 106 Japanese parents (mean age = 56.7 years) caring for at least one child with an ID . The age of the parent was negatively associated with parental distress, particularly anxiety. NMRE were also negatively related to distress, independent of the age of the parent and coping. The severity of the child's ID was not related to coping or parental distress. Stronger beliefs that they could control their negative moods and being older seemed to protect parents of an ID child from symptoms of distress.