The Relationship Between Parenting Stress and Parents' Level of Education, Knowledge, and Attitude Regarding Dental and Oral Health Maintenance in Children with Intellectual Disabilities.

BACKGROUND

Parenting stress is an unpleasant psychological reaction to the demands of being a parent. It affects parents who raise children with developmental disabilities and presents unique challenges, the impact of which is exacerbated by socio-economic status, age, income, and parental education level. Individuals with intellectual disabilities have poorer general health and oral hygiene compared to the general population. Parenting stress can influence parents' knowledge and attitudes about maintaining oral health. This research aimed to determine whether there was a relationship between parenting stress and the level of education, knowledge, and attitudes of parents toward maintaining oral health in children with intellectual disabilities.

METHODS

This research used a cross-sectional analytical method. The total sample was 104 parents of children with intellectual disabilities in two special schools in Bandung Regency, Indonesia. Data was collected and then tested for correlation with Spearman's Rank and Kendall Coefficient of Concordance.

RESULTS

The majority of parents described their level of parenting stress as moderate (51%), with the highest level of education being high school (36.5%), a sufficient level of knowledge (48.1%), and an adequate attitude towards maintaining dental and oral health (46.2%). Multivariate analysis showed a relationship between parenting stress and parents' level of education, knowledge, and attitudes, with a p-value of 0.0008 and W=0.205.

CONCLUSION

There is a relationship between parenting stress and the level of education, knowledge, and attitudes of parents regarding the maintenance of the oral health of children with intellectual disabilities (whether it is related between parenting stress and each variable or when parenting stress is related to all three).