This study describes the development and evaluation of the Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index (DDPSI). The DDPSI items were developed from a questionnaire survey of mothers (N = 255) of children with developmental disorders. A factor analysis identified four factors: (a) difficulty understanding the child and coping with the childʼs needs, (b) anxiety about the childʼs future and independence, (c) inadequate understanding of the childʼs disorder, and (d) conflicting emotions with regard to the childʼs disorder. These factors had high degrees of internal consistency. The concurrent validity of the DDPSI was examined. The DDPSI scores significantly correlated with the Stress Response Scale-18 and the Handicapped Child Parenting Stress Scale. The results of structural equation modeling analysis suggested that social support for the mothers mitigated the stressorsʼ effect and reduced their psychological stress responses. The DDPSI is sufficiently reliable and valid to measure the stressors of parents of children with developmental disorders.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had negative psychological effects, such as increased depression, anxiety, and suicide, on children worldwide, including in Japan. To effectively mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic among Japanese children, it is necessary to increase understanding of the culturally specific psychological effects on Japanese children, including age and gender differences, as well as related risk and protective factors. However, no previous research has quantitatively evaluated changes in Japanese children's emotional functioning before and after the pandemic began. The present study examined changes in Japanese children's emotional functioning with pre- and mid-pandemic questionnaires, particularly focusing on age and gender differences. The present study also explored the effects of school adjustment, social interactions, and lifestyle activities on children's emotional and behavioral functioning during the pandemic. Data were analyzed from 293 children from the southwestern region in Japan. The pre-pandemic questionnaire assessed emotional and behavioral functioning and school adjustment, while the mid-pandemic questionnaire assessed emotional and behavioral functioning, social interactions, and lifestyle activities. The results indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the emotional functioning of Japanese children, especially younger boys. Pre-pandemic school adjustment negatively influenced emotional functioning. Spending time alone, spending little time with one's mother, poor sleep regulation, a lack of exercise, and a high frequency of playing video games were related to poor emotional and behavioral functioning. The findings imply that Japanese children, especially younger boys, may benefit from psychological interventions that promote social interactions, especially with their mothers, regulated sleep patterns, adequate exercise, and that support children in managing video game engagement, to mitigate the pandemic's negative psychological impact.
In Japan, schools were suddenly closed all over the country with one month left at the end of the school year to prevent the spread of new coronavirus infections. Although previous studies have shown that quarantine and isolation have a negative impact on mental health, the impact of school closure on children's mental health is not clear. This study examined mental health indicators, such as emotional symptoms, in addition to behavior during school closure and anxiety after school resumes, among children in three primary schools for which survey data existed in December before school closure. No cases of infection have been confirmed in the area where the school was located at the time of the survey. As a result, anxiety about whether they would be able to return to their normal routine after school resumed was associated with mental health. In addition, there was a worsening of emotional symptoms in those who were in medium group of school adjustment as of December.
Assessing parenting stress in parents of children with autism has crucial clinical implications because increased parental stress is associated with psychological disorders and personal distress, which can result in worse child–parent relationships. We examined the psychometric properties of a new index for assessing parenting stressors—the Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index and the temporal variability of parenting stressors using longitudinal data of 212 Japanese parents of children with autism aged 2–18 years. The findings indicated that the Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index has appropriate cross-validity, structural validity, construct validity, and reliability. Moreover, the psychometric properties and the brevity of the Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index increase the clinical utility of the scale. The implications of the findings of this study are discussed. Lay abstract Parents of children with autism experience high rates of parenting stress. Assessing parenting stress in them has crucial clinical implications because increased parental stress is associated with psychological disorders and personal distress, which can result in worse child–parent relationships. Theorists have proposed that a person’s cognitive appraisal determines whether or not a situation or an encounter is personally stressful. However, prior scales merely measure the outcomes of parental stress as a stress response: little the scales were designed to assess events and cognitive appraisal-related parenting stressors of parents of children with autism. We investigated whether a new index for assessing parenting stressors—the Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index is a valid measure to assess parenting stressors of parents of children with autism using longitudinal online surveys at three times. Participants were 212 Japanese parents of children with autism aged 2–18 years who completed the Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index and measures of autism symptoms and stress response . Overall, the findings indicated that the Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index can be reliably used to measure both experiences and cognitive appraisal of parenting stressors among parents of children with autism. Moreover, the Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index has several advantages and is a valuable measurement tool to be able to evaluate parenting stressors in clinical settings; Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index is shorter, easier to complete, and can evaluate both viewpoints of parenting stressors.
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