Identifying child, parent, and school correlates of stress among parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities experience a high degree of stress due to child (e.g., age and type of disability) and parent (e.g., self-mastery and optimism) characteristics. While research has demonstrated a link between parent and child characteristics and parent stress, less is known about the contribution to parent stress of school-related characteristics. The lack of focus on school characteristics is striking, given that many parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities struggle to access school services. To bridge this gap, our study identified child, parent, and school correlates of parent stress among 58 parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Results highlighted a negative correlation between stress and school characteristics, specifically: the quality of the family–school partnership; and family empowerment. Implications for research into parent stress and ways to reduce it are discussed.