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Chapter I
Introduction
A STUDY ON THE PSYCHOSOCIAL PROBLEMS AND COPING
STRATEGIESOF PARENTS OF MENTALLY CHALLENGED CHILDREN
INTRODUCTION
Mental retardation is not disease but a condition in which the intellectual faculties are
never manifested of have never been developed sufficiently to enable the retarded person
to acquire such an amount of knowledge as person of his own age and placed in similar
circumstances with him are capable of receiving.
A term used when a person has certain limitations is mental functions and in skills such
as communicating, taking care of him or her and social skills is called mentally
challenged. These limitations will cause a child to learn and develop slower than a typical
child.
In the past, parents were usually hesitant to institutionalize a child with significant
mentally retarded. This is not done anymore. The goal now is for the child with mentally
retarded to stay in the family and take part in the community life. In most states, the law
guarantees them educational and other service at public expense.
MENTAL RETARDATION IS DEFINEDAS
1. Significantly sub average general intellectual functions (i.e., 2 standard deviation below
the mean) I Q below 70.
2. Significant deficit or impairment in adaptive functioning (i.e., persons ability to meet the
responsibilities of social personal, interpersonal and occupational areas of life according
to his age and social cultural and educational background.)
3. Which manifests during the period of development (before 18 years of age)
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
The signs and symptoms of intellectual disability are all behavioural. Most people with
intellectual disability do not look like they are afflicted with such, especially if the
disability is caused by environmental factors such as malnutrition or lead poisoning. The
so-called typical appearance ascribed to people with intellectual disability is only present
in a minority of cases, all of which are syndromic.
Children with intellectual disability may learn to sit up, to crawl, or to walk later than
other children, or they may learn to talk later. Both adults and children with intellectual
disability may also exhibit some or all of the following characteristics:
Delays in oral language development

Deficits in memory skills
Difficulty learning social rules
Difficulty with problem solving skills
Delays in the development of adaptive behaviours such as self-help or self-care skills
Lack of social inhibitors
Children with intellectual disability learn more slowly than a typical child. Children may
take longer to learn language, develop social skills, and take care of their personal needs,
such as dressing or eating. Learning will take them longer, require more repetition, and
skills may need to be adapted to their learning levels. Nevertheless, virtually every child
is able to learn, develop and become a participating member of the community.
In early childhood, mild intellectual disability (IQ 50-69) may not be obvious, and may
not be identified, until children being school. Even when poor academic performance is
recognized, it may take expert assessment to distinguish mild intellectual disability from
learning disability or emotional/behavioural disorders. People with mild intellectual
disability are capable of learning reading and mathematics skills to approximately the
level of a typical child aged nine to twelve. They can learn self-care and practical skills,
such as cooking or using the local mass transit system. As individuals with intellectual
disability reach adulthood, many learn to live independently and maintain gainful
employment.
Moderate intellectual disability (IQ 35-49) is nearly always apparent within the first years
of life. Speech delays are particularly common signs of moderate MR. People with
moderate intellectual disability need considerable supports in school, at home, and in the
community in order to participate fully. While their academic potential is limited, they
can learn simple health and safety skills and to participate in simple activities. As adults
they may live with significant supportive services to help them, for example, manage
their finances. As adults, they work in a sheltered workshop.
People with severe or profound intellectual disability need more intensive support and
supervision their entire lives. They may learn some activities of daily living. Some
require full-time care by an attendant.
DEVELOPMENTAL PERIODS:
1. Infancy and early childhood (0-6 years)
This is pre-school period. In this age group, person with mental retardation may have
problems in
Standing, walking, running, squatting.
Picking up small objects using fingers, example stringing beads.
Eating.
Dressing.
Grooming.
Eliminating and cleaning toileting.
Communicating.
Interacting with people.
2. Childhood and early adolescence (06-12 years)

In this age group persons with mental retardation may have difficulties in domains of:
Functional academic, in the areas of reading, numbers, writing, time money

and measurement, where skills of a higher level of cognition is needed for
their expected level of performance.
Skills required in the performance of da ily living talks. (Self-help, Socialization,
motor, language, cognition skills)
3. Adolescence and adulthood (12-18 years)
This is high school period. In this age group person with mental retardation may have problem in-
Performing domestic activities
Using community services, such as
Hospital
Post office
Public transport
Parks
Telephone etc.
Involving themselves in recreational activities games, clubs
Learning vocational skills
CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN WITH MENTAL RETARDATION
Mental retardation means substantial limitations in age-appropriate intellectual and adaptive

behaviour. It is seldom a time-limited condition. Although many individuals with mental
retardation make tremendous advancements in adaptive skills(some to the point of functioning
independently and no longer being considered under any disability category),most are affected
throughout their life span(Hawkins, Eklund, James & Foose,2003)
Many children with mild retardation are not identified until they enter school and sometimes not
until the second or third grade, when more difficult academic work is required. Most students
with mild mental retardation master academic skills up to about the sixth-grade level and are able
to learn job skills well enough to support themselves independently or semi-independently. Some
adults who have been identified with mild mental retardation develop excellent social and
communication skills and once they leave school are no longer recognized as having a disability.
Children with moderate retardation show significant delays in development during their preschool
years. As they grow older, discrepancies in overall intellectual development and adaptive
functioning generally grow wider between these children and age mates without disabilities.
People with moderate mental retardation are more likely to have health and behaviour problems
than are individuals with mild retardation.
Individuals with severe and profound mental retardation are almost always identified at birth or
shortly afterward. Most of these infants have significant central nervous system damage, and
many have additional disabilities and/or health conditions. Although IQ scores can serve as the
basis for differentiating severe and profound retardation from one another, the difference is
primarily one of functional impairment.
Cognitive Functioning
Deficits in cognitive functioning and learning styles characteristic of individuals with

mental retardation include poor memory, slow learning rates, attention problems, difficulty
generalizing what they have learned, and lack of motivation.
Memory. Students with mental retardation have difficulty remembering information. As would
be expected, the more severe the cognitive impairment, the greater the deficits in memory. In
particular, research has found that students with retardation have trouble retaining information in
short-term memory(Bray, Fletcher, & Tuner, 1997).Short-term memory, or working memory, is
the ability to recall and use information that was encountered just a few seconds to a couple of
hours earlier-for example, remembering a specific sequence of job tasks an employer stated just a
few minutes earlier. Merrill (1990) reports that students with mental retardation require more time
than their nondisabled peers to automatically recall information and therefore have more
difficulty handling larger amounts of cognitive information at one time. Early researchers
suggested that once persons with mental retardation learned a specific item of information
sufficiently to commit it to long-term memoryinformation recalled after a period of days or
weeksthey retained that information about as well as persons without retardation (Belmont,
1996; Ellis, 1963).
More recent research on mental abilities of persons with mental retardation has focused
on teaching metacognitive or executive control strategies, such as rehearsing and organizing
information into related sets, which many children without disabilities learn to do naturally
(Bebko&Luhaorg, 1998). Students with mental retardation do not tend touse such strategies
spontaneously but can be taught to do so with improved performance
on memory-related and problem-solving tasks as an outcome of such strategy instruction (Hughes &
Rusch, 1989; Merrill, 1990).
Learning Rate: The rate at which individuals with mental retardation acquire new knowledge
and skills is well below that of typically developing children. A frequently used measure of
learning rate is trials to criterionthe number of practice or instructional trials needed before a
student can respond correctly without prompts or assistance. For example, while just 2 or 3 trials
with feedback may be required for a typically developing child to learn to discriminate between
two geometric forms, a child with mental retardation may need 20 to 30 or more trials to learn the
same discrimination.
Because students with mental retardation learn more slowly, some educators have
assumed that instruction should be slowed down to match their lower rate of learning. Research
has shown, however, that students with mental retardation benefit from opportunities to learn to
go fast (Miller, Hall, &Heward, 1995).
Attention. The ability to attend to critical features of a task (e.g., to the outline of geometric
shapes instead of dimensions such as their color or position on the page) is a characteristic of
efficient learners. Students with mental retardation often have trouble attending to relevant
features of a learning task and instead may focus on interacting irrelevant stimuli. In addition,
individuals with mental retardation often have difficulty sustaining attention to learning tasks
(Zeaman& House, 1979). These attention problems compound and contribute to a students
difficulties in acquiring, remembering, and generalizing new knowledge and skills.
Effective instructional design for students with mental retardation must systematically
control for the presence and saliency of critical stimulus dimensions as well as the presence and
effects of distracting stimuli. After initially directing a students attention to the most relevant
feature of a simplified task and reinforcing correct responses, the complexity and difficulty of the
task can gradually be increased. A students selective and sustained attention to relevant stimuli
will improve as he experiences success for doing so.
Generalization of Learning. Students with disabilities, especially those with mental

retardation, often have trouble using their new knowledge and skills in settings or situations that
differ from the context in which they first learned those skills. Such transfer or generalization of
learning occurs without explicit programming for many children without disabilities but may be
evident in students with mental retardation without specific programming to facilitate it.
Researchers and educators are no longer satisfied by demonstrations that individuals with mental
retardation can initially acquire new knowledge or skills. One of the most important and
challenging areas of contemporary research in special education is the search for strategies and
tactics for promoting the generalization and maintenance of learning by individuals with mental
retardation. Some of the findings of that research are described later in this chapter and
throughout this text.
Motivation. Some students with mental retardation exhibit an apparent lack of interest in learning
or problem-solving tasks (Switzky, 1997). Some individuals with mental retardation develop
learned helplessness, a condition in which a person who hasexperienced repeated failure comes to
expect failure regardless of his or her efforts. In an attempt to minimize or offset failure, the
person may set extremely low expectations for himself and not appear to try very hard. When
faced with a difficult task or problem, some individuals with mental retardation may quickly give
up and turn to or wait for others to help them. Some acquire a problem-solving approach called
outer-directedness, in which they seem to distrust their own responses to situations and rely on
others for assistance and solutions.
Rather than an inherent characteristic of mental retardation, the apparent lack of motivation may
be the product of frequent failure and prompt dependency acquired as the result of other peoples
doing things for them. After successful experiences, individuals with mental retardation do not
differ from persons without mental retardation on measures of outer-determination skills to
students with mental retardation is critical in helping them to become self-reliant problem solves
who act upon their world rather than passively wait to be acted upon (Wehmeyer, Martin, &
Sands, 1998).
CAUSES OF MENTAL RETARDATION

Mental retardation may be caused by the following factors
Biological, both in the internal environment womb and in the external environment
Psychological
BIOLOGICAL FACTORS
Chromosomal abnormalities
This type of abnormality may be due to:
An extra chromosome (Trisomy) a child with Downs syndrome

Has an extra chromosome in the 21st pair.
An extra chromosome (monosomy) a female child with turners syndrome
Deletion and duplication, a part of the chromosome is missing (deletion): a part is

duplicated (duplication) this condition is an extremely one.
Translocation as in Downs syndrome. Where one of the pair in the 21 st chromosome

attaches itself to another chromosome.
Mosaic, where some cells have the normal number of chromosomes

and the other cells have an extra chromosome in the 21 st pair. This also results in the magnification of
mosaic type of Downs syndrome.
Genetic abnormality
Inherited order: They are as follows: Dominant inheritance, when one of the parents
is affected and each child bears a fifty percent chance of inheriting the disorder.
The affected child, through parenthood may then transfer the trait to his offspring and
successive generation will be inheriting it. Example of such as inherited disorder is tuberous
sclerosis.
Polygenic inheritance, refers to some disorders which are seen many members of the family,
with chances of the offspring being affected, as in congenial heart diseases. Recessive
inheritance, when neither of the parents is affected but both are carries of an abnormal gene, and
the risk is 25% for each offspring, as in the condition called phenyleketunuria.
PRENATAL CAUSES:
Infections (rubeela, cytomegalovirus. Syphils, toxoplasmosis)

Physical damage (Injury, hypoxia, radiation)
Intoxications (lead, certain drugs)
Placental dysfunction (Toxemia, nutritional growth retardation)
Endocrine disorders (Hypothyroidism, hyperparathyroidism)
Birth asphyxia
Prolonged or difficult birth
Prematurity (complications or excessive oxygen)
Kernicterns
Instrumental delivery (head injury, intraventrialar haemorrhage)
POSTNATAL CAUSES
Injury (accidents, child abuse)

Infections (encephalitis, meningitis)
Intoxication (lead)
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
The effect of psychological factors is not clear, but the following factors may lead to mental
retardation in child. They are
Unfavourable institutional environment

Unfavourablehome environment with very poor or bad stimulation
Mal-adjusted family environment
Parents with retardation (child gets a poor model) and
Total isolation from interventions in family, community or society
TYPES OF MENTAL RETARDATION
(i) Mild Mental Retardation (I.Q TO 70)
This constitutes about 85% of total mentally retarded. Usually their appearance is
unremarkable and any motor or sensory deficits are slight. Most people in this group develop
more or less normal language abilities and social behaviours during this group develop more or
less normal languages abilities and social behaviours during the preschool years and their mental
retardation may not be detected until the start of schooling. In about life, most of them can live
independently in ordinary surroundings;
through they may need help when under some unusual stress. They can achieve academic level up
to 6 -8th standard and usually belong to low socio economic class
(ii)Moderate Mental Retardation (I.Q to 49)
People in this group account for about 12% of the mentally retarded. Most of the, can talk
or at least learn to communicate, and most can learn to care for themselves albeit with some
supervision. As adults, they can usually undertake similar routine work. They are trainable (in
self-care) but uneducable.
(iii)Severe Mental Retardation (I.Q 20 to 34)
People with severe mental retardation account for about 7% of the mentally retarded. In
the preschool years, their development is usually greatly slowed. Eventually many of them can be
trained to look after themselves under close supervision and to communicate in a simple way. As
adults they can undertake simple tasks and engage in limited activities.
(iv)Profound Mental Retardation (I.Q below 20)
Less than 1% of mentally retarded, only few of them learn to care for them completely, some
eventually achieve some simple speech and social behaviour.
General Achievements of Persons with Mental Retardation
Pre-school phase
(0-5 years old)
School age phase
(6-15 years old)
Adolescence and adulthood
(16 years old or above)
Mild MR
Overall development is slower than peers.

Development problems may not be easily identified until the child starts primary school.
Can master basic learning skills (e.g. writing, reading and numeracy skills)
Can acquire proper pre-vocational skills.
Can integrate into community with assistance.
With assistance, can we employed in simple work, and lead a social life in community.
Moderate MR
Over all development is obliviously slower than peers

Can acquire basic communication skills and simple self -care abilities
Can learn some practical skills for daily living
Can live independently to a certain extent in familiar environment and with proper support
Can learn perform simple tasks in specially working environment
Severe / Profound MR
Significant discrepancy in overall development when compared with peers

Some children may also have physical disabilities
Limited communication abilities and response to the environment
Delayed development in motor abilities
Can learn limited communication skills and simple self-care tasks
Possess simple communication skills
Can master limited basic self-care skills with special support
How Can Parents Help Their Child with Mental Retardation

Arrange early assessment for the child so as to understand and accept his/her developmental
problems
Involve in the childs training so as to master the training methods and communicate with the
instructors
Join parent self-help groups and make good use of community resources
Share feelings with others to relieve negative emotion and stress
Where Can Parents Seek Help If Their Child Is Suspected To Have Mental Retardation
During school age:
Maternal and Child Health Centers / Paediatric departments of Hospital / Private
Practitioners
Child A Assessments Centers
Education Bureau
Medical service
Occupational therapy
Physiotherapy
Speech therapy
Educational Bureau
Special schools
Services for children in mainstream schools
Support services in schools
Outreach support of Special Education Services
TREATMENT
No satisfactory treatment available till today. No drugs are available to increaseThe level of
intelligence. Most of the mentally retarded children brought for treatment can only be benefited
only to a limited extent. Management of mentally retarded patients is directed at the following
levels.
i) Primary Prevention
(a)Health promotion
Health promotion is directed at
Good antenatal care and encouraging deliveries in hospitals under proper supervision and care.
Improving the socio economic status of the country.
Education of the public to help in early detection of mental retardation and also, to remove
misconceptions about it causes and treatment.
Facilitating research to identify the causes, and to invent new method of treatment.
(b) Specific Protection
Good prenatal, natal and postnatal care to the pregnant mothers at risk.
Genetic counselling to at risk patients: in phenylketomia.
Avoiding child birth in late age of the mother (E.g. To prevent downs syndrome.
Avoiding consangunial marriages in cause the hereditary factor is operative.
Avoiding marriages of mentally retarded where string inheritable factors are operating e.g.
tuberous sclerosis.
Vaccination of girls with rubella vaccine to prevent teratogenicity in fetus due to rubella.
Avoid giving pertussis vaccine to children with history of convulsions or neurological
abnormalities.
ii) Tertiary Prevention
(a)Disability Limitation
Treatment of physical and psychological (by drugs behaviour modification)

Institutionalization of severe mentally retarded or those with Psychological problems.
Education and training to avoid handicaps.
Physiotherapy treat the associated deficits.
(b)Rehabilitation
This is the cornerstone of management of mentally retarded children.
It depends on the patients level of intelligence and his aptitude. These patients need warmth, love,
appreciation and discipline. Rehabilitation is aimed at physical, social and occupational areas.
Day care center and schools, integrated schools, vocational training centers, sheltered forms and
workshops are useful.
ii) Secondary Prevention (Early diagnosis and treatment)
Early detection and treatment of the preventable disorders (metabolic, endocrinal and nutritional
disorders)
Amniocentesis and medical termination of pregnancy on medical grounds.
Early detection of correctable disorders of nutritional deficiencies (replacement) infections
(antibiotics) hydrocephalus and skull configuration disorders (surgery) or situations (under
stimulation) and their treatment.
Early detection of physical handicaps (sensory and motor) and Psychological handicaps (e.g.
Epilepsy, behavioural disorders) and early intervention.
Prevent them against abuse e.g.(physical or sexual abuse) by legal or by medical measures (e.g.
Tubectomy of severely retarded girls)
Counselling to Parents
Parents should be explained about the causation and prognosis of mental retardation to alley their
misconceptions, fear and unwarranted expectations of miraculous care)
To educate mothers and families in caring for the mentally handicapped (e.g. Training mentally
retarded girls in house hold activities)
Special supervision for the physically handicapped or those severally. And profoundly mentally
retarded.
Treatment of psychological problems in parents (e.g. Depression in mother resulting in under
simulation of a child resulting in retardation).
(d) Hospitalization
It is estimated than 4/1000 children are severely mentally restarted and about one forth to one
third of these needs hospitalization.
EFFECTS OF MENTAL RETARDATION ON THE PARENTS
Parents show
Distress, feelings of rejection

Depression, guilt, shame or anger
Rejection of child
Overindulgence
Social problems
Marital disharmony (in some)
Burden of care for their child.
Dissatisfaction about medical and social services
PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS FACED BY PARENTS OF MENTALLY

CHALLENGED CHILDREN
Raising a child who is mentally challenged requires emotional strength and flexibility. The child
has special needs in addition to the regular needs of all children, and parents a can find
themselves overwhelmed by various medical, caregiving and educational responsibilities.
Whether the special needs of the child are minimal or complex, the parents are inevitably
affected. Support from family, friends, the community or paid caregivers is critical to maintaining
balance in the home.
EMOTIONAL ISSUES
Parents of mentally challenged children commonly experience a gamut of emotions over the
years. They often struggle with guilt. One or both parents may feel as though they somehow
caused the child to be disabled, whether from genetics, alcohol use, stress, or other logical or
illogical reasons. This guilt can harm the parents emotional health if it is not dealt with. Some
parents struggle with why and experience a spiritual crisis or blame the other parent. Most
parents have aspirations for their child from the time of her birth and can experience severe
disappointment that she will not be president, a physician, an actor or whatever they hand in
mind. These parents must deal with the death of the perfect child who existed in their minds
and learn to love and accept the child they have. Occasionally, parent feel embarrassed or
ashamed that their child is mentally disabled.
PHYSICAL EXHAUSTION AND STRESS
Physical exhaustion can take a toll on the parents of a mentally challenged child. The degree of this
usually relative to the amount of care needed. Feeding, bathing, moving, clothing and diapering an infant
is much easier physically than doing the same tasks for someone who weighs 80 pounds. The child may
have more physician and other health-care appointments than a typical child and may need close medical
monitoring. He may also need to be watched to avoid inadvertent self-harm such as falling down stairs or
walking inti the street. These additional responsibilities can take a physical toll on a parent, leading to
exhaustion. The American Academy of Family Physicians relates that these issues can cause significant
caregiver stress.
SCHOOL-RELATED ISSUES
The parent of a child with developmental disabilities may have to deal with complex issues
related to education. Either a private education must be sought, or an adequate public education
must be available. Parents often have to advocate for their child to receive a quality educational
experience that will enrich her. This often requires close parental contact with the school system.
The parent must monitor the childs interactions with other to ensure she is not being bullied.
Transportation to and from school may require a specialized bus or van, and children with severe
disabilities may need to be schooled at home.
FINANCIAL CONCERNS
Raising a child with a mental challenge may be more expensive than raising a typical child. These
expenses can arise from medical equipments and supplies, medical care, caregiving expenses,
private education, tutoring, adaptive learning equipment or specialized transportation. The care of
the child may last a lifetime instead of 18 years, Parents may have to set aside money in a trust
fund for the childs care when they pass away.
CHALLENGES FACED BY THE FAMILY
1. ACCEPTANCE
When a doctor gives the parents the news that their child is mentally retarded and will never be
completely normal, it is too painful for most parents to face. Many parents, like in Hrithiks case,
spend years in denial, trying to find some solution or cure to this problem, They might go from
one hospital to another, try alternative forms of medicine or look to religion for a miracle. But
mental retardation is not a disease and there are no medicines to cure it. It is a syndrome which is
caused by genetic factors (chromosomal abnormalities like in Down s syndrome), hereditary
causes (due to marriage between close relatives, previous incidence of mental retardation in the
family) or due to brain damage of some sort. As hard as it is to accept, once parents realize that
their child is mentally retarded and will remain so, their expectations of the child will readjust
accordingly. They can move on to talking the necessary steps to help the child make the most of
his potential by going addressing his special needs through special education, vocational training
etc.
2. SELF-BLAME
The parents wonder if they did something wrong, during the coarse of the pregnancy or after
birth, while taking care of the child. They wonder if God is punishing them for their sins.
3. STIGMA
Many parents might feel that a mentally retarded child is something to be ashamed of and cannot
be allowed out of the house. Neighbours, relatives or others might make cruel remarks about the
child and parents might feel isolated and without support.
4. HELPLESSNESS
Many parents dont know how to get help for their child once he/she has been diagnosed with
mental retardation. The sense of helplessness comes both from a lack of understanding about
mental retardation and a lack of information about the resources available for mentally retarded
individuals. It might also arise from insensitive handling of the case by the mental health
professionals, who might not have enough time to talk to each family at length about their
experience.
5. BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
Many parents find it difficult to handle behaviour problems like screaming, crying, inability to
concentrate, aggressiveness, stubbornness etc. that a child with mental retardation might have.
For parents, especially mother, whom have to take care of household tasks and work apart from
taking care of the child, patience can wear thin. Getting angry with the child or hitting him/her
also does not help very much, Often, the child might not understand how disruptive his/her
behaviour is top others and why they get angry.
6. Unrealistic expectations
Many times, parents of mentally retarded children are mentally dissatisfied with the slow
progress their child is making in learning new things, They push harder to force the child to learn
quicker and try to be on par with other children. However, the child can only learn to the best of
his/her ability and no more. If he/she has the mental age of a 8yr old, he/she cannot be expected
to undertake a normal vocation which requires complicated mental processes. When parents have
unrealistic expectations of what their child can achieve, it leads to disappointment not only for
them but also in the child who does not understand what he/she is doing wrong.
7. WORRY ABOUT THE FUTURE
One of the main concerns of parents with mentally retarded children is about how their children
will be taken care of when the die. They feel that no one else can take care of their child with
same love and care than they have and they have scared about how their child will manage to
survive in the world.
8. MARITAL FAMILY PROBLEMS
Having a child who is mentally retarded places greater strain on a family than otherwise. Due to
the extra tasks that have to be done to take care of the child, parents feel overworked, stressed out
and unhappy. The marital relationship can become strained if the parents have different
approaches in dealing with the child or if one parent has to take care of the child all the time.
Sometimes, mothers might feel they are not getting enough support from their husband in taking
care of the child. Fathers might feel that the mothers are unnecessarily worried and overprotective
of the child. Other family members can complicate matters depending on how they react to the
child.
All these reactions that a family experiences are completely normal. It takes time, support and
accurate information to understand and accept what their child is. Even after coming to terms
with the fact that mental retardation is incurable, it is very difficult to give up hope that someday
something will make their child normal. This hope is what might keep most parents going. As
long as this hope does not lead to demanding too much o0f the child, it is perfectly ok. There are
professionals like psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists and counsellors
who can help you are going through a similar experience.
HOW PARENTS COPE WITH A MENTALLY COPED CHILD
Parents of a mentally challenged child experience many emotional difficulties including self-
blame, helplessness, unrealistic expectations, worries for the future and marital strain, according
to psychologist Sarayu Chandrasekhar, a counselor for the Talk It Over website. As you learn to
cope with your childs challenges, it is important that you educate yourself about his disability,
seek out support support from parents facing similar challenges and consider counselling to help
you reach acceptance.
EDUCATION
Learn about the challenges your child is facing. The more you learn, the more you will be able to
help your child and yourself. Ask your childs paediatrician, teachers and therapists for book
recommendations that will educate you about your childs challenges and provide way for you to
encourage his independence and courses that might be able to educate you further about how his
disability affects development and what types of services may help.
SUPPORT GROUPS
Many parents of mentally-challenged children benefit from joining a parent group and meeting
other families with similar needs, according to the National Dissemination Center for Children
with Disabilities (NICHCY). Online support group exist and provide information and emotional
support. Local parent groups may exist in your area, and your family can meet other families
facing similar challenge in person. In support group you will be able to share struggles with
others who understand while learning about local resources other families have benefited from.
Check the NICHCYS website for a list of parent groups in your area.
RESPITE
All parents need a break from the responsibilities of caring for their childbut parents of a child
with disabilities may have more difficulty accessing this type of relief,says NancyOlson, a nurse
and president of the Respite Care Association of Wisconsin, Inc. Check with your local hospital,
YMCA or church to see if they provide groups or professionals within their organization who
offer respite care. Seek out parents of other special needs children who are qualified and
experienced in caring for a mentally challenged child and ask if you can work out a trade where
you take turns watching each others children while the other couple has a chance to run errands
or enjoy a night out.
COUNSELING
Parents of disabled children go through a grieving process that includes shock, denial, anger and
acceptance, according to William Healey, chair of the Department of Special Education at the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Healey states that schools should provide a list of counsellors
for parents of disabled children. Most parents need assistance as they work towards acceptance of
their childs challenges and encounter setbacks. A professional will be able to help you reach a
healthy balance of hopes for your child with the reality of your childs achievements and
developments. Counselling will be of great help to the parents.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
There are about 15 million mentally retarded in India. As many as 3 out of every 100 people are
mentally retarded. In fact out of 10 children who need special education has some form of
mentally challenge. In this present scenario, parents are persons who are suffers, who are subject
to many prejudices of the society. They undergo financial problems mainly due to treatment,
providing special education. Moreover they will be troubled thinking about the future of their
children.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Mentally retarded children are one of the most important problems faced by human beings which
produce lot of psychological disturbance in the heart of caregivers, especially the parents. Thus
the researcher has made an attempt to study the psychological problems faced by the parents of
mentally challenged children and also to offer some suggestions to improve the parent-child
relationship.
CHAPTERISATION
This study has five chapters.
CHAPTER I
This chapter deals with the Introduction part. It includes the Statement of the Problem and the
Significance of the Study.
CHAPTER II
This chapter deals with the review of Literature.
CHAPTER III
This chapter deals with the Research Methodology.
CHAPTER IV
This chapter deals with the Analysis and Interpretation of the collected data.
CHAPTER V
This chapter deals with the Major Findings of the Study. It also deals with the Suggestions and
the Conclusions.
Chapter II
Review of Literature
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The review of literature is been written with a purpose to convey that knowledge and
ideas has been established on a topic and what are its strength and weakness. As a piece of
writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., the research objective,
the problem or issue under discussion or the argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list
of material available or a set of summaries. The topic for the present study is the psychosocial
problems of parents mentally challenged children.
ROGER C. LOEB (1977) in their study on Group Therapy for Parents of Mentally
Retarded Children face many special stresses. They have traditionally been offered information
about their children but little opportunity to explore their own needs and difficulties. Such an
opportunity was offered to parents, as couples, in group settings. The leaders concluded that the
most effective approach was an eclectic one including Rogerian reflection, Freudian
interpretation, Ellis reality therapy, Gestalt techniques, and learning theory-based behaviour
modification. Most parents proved to be compassionate and insightful group members with a
great deal to offer each other.
GODDESS J. OZGUL S. OWEN C, FOLEY Evano L (1982) of Australian National

University Lanbeera, Australia conducted a study on the Grief Experience of Parents of Adult
Children with Mental Illness and its Relationship to Parental Health and Well Being and Parent
Child Attachment and Alternative Relationship. Participants were recruited from a variety of
organizations throughout Australia that support services for sufferers of mental illness and for
their families.
The study provides important insights into the grief experience of parents following their
children being diagnosed with mental illness. The significant relationship between parental grief
and parental psychological well being and health status as well as to parent child relationship
has important implications for health professionals. Fore
most among these are the need to validate the distress and griefs of parents and to better
understand how to provide family bonds while reducing emotional distress and life disruption
CHANG, MEI-YING, (1994) of International Journal of Disability, in their studied about
Development and Education of Parents. Most research into family care-giving has been
undertaken in western, English-speaking societies with little cognizance taken of possible
differences across cultures. Home-based interviews were conducted with 117 mothers and fathers
in Taipei City, Taiwan and five main themes were identified using content analysis. Three themes
expressed the impact of the child on family functioning, parental health, and levels of stress and
two themes described parents copying strategies and sources of support. Although these themes
broadly replicate findings from other cultures, certain features of Taiwanese Chinese society
appear to accentuate the impact on mothers especially of having a child with an intellectual
disability. The implications for the provision of family-centred services are discussed, especially
in helping parents to recognize their strengths and copying capabilities, and to promote their
influence in changing cultural attitudes.
GAYTON WF (1995), in their study on Management Problems of Mentally Retarded

Children and Their Families found out that Paediatricians faced with the difficult task of
providing management services to mentally retarded children and their families are confronted
with a number of difficult problems. These range all the way from deciding how to inform parents
that their child is retarded to dealing with grandparents who are a source of stress. Successful
handling of these problems requires recognition that management is central to the care of the
mentally retarded child. The needs of mentally retarded children and their families will not be met
by interacting with families only around issues of acute physical illness. Attention must be
directed towards psychological as well as medical variable and the emphasis must be on the total
family system.
BORGHGRAEF M, UMANS (1995), Centre for Human Genetics, of University Hospital
Gasthuisberg, Belgium in their study about Management of Behaviour and Personality of nine girls,
with a 50% risk to be carrier of the FMR-1 gene and who attended normal school and did not have a
mentally retarded for a relative, were selected to exclude influences of external factors. These subjects
were submitted to an extensive neuro cognitive and psychiatric evaluation before molecular analysis of
their FMR-1 status was done to obtain completely unbiased results. The findings of this study suggest that
differentiation ac according to the FMR-1 status may be more significant at the neurocognitive level than
at the behavioural level and support the hypothesis that behavioural problems are more influenced by
external factors than by the FMR-1 carrier state.
KAUR, ANUPAM, DHILLON (1996), Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,

conducted a study on Psychological and Risk of Parents of Mentally Retarded. The purpose of
this paper is to further understand the mentally retarded child and his family, and review the
psychiatrists role in the assessment and treatment of the common emotional disorders found
therein. Appropriate assessment techniques, the frequently noted emotional disorders,parental
responses, and helpful treatment modalities will be reviewed. Psychotherapy with the mentally
retarded child is challenging, diverse, and demands greater attention from the mental health
profession.
M.R... ALI, Bangladesh (1996) of Institution for the Mentally Retarded in their study on
Aspirations and Ground Reality of Mentally Retarded Children. This study was designed to
assess the personality characteristics and psychological problems of parents of mentally retarded
children. Seventy-six parents, whose mean age was 42.12 year with SD 10.15.38 of mentally
retarded and 38 of normal children were investigated. A Bengali version of the Eysenck
Personality Questionnaire was used to measure the psychoticism, neuroticism and extraversion-
introversion responses of the parents. Results showed that parents of mentally retarded children
had significantly high scores only on the neurotism scale, indicating that they were more
emotionally unstable than the parents of normal children. The findings were discussed in terms of
certain considering factors
Associated with having a mentally retarded child. Counselling programmes for these parents should take
in to account these factors.
MARTIN J. LUBETSKY (1997), from the Department of child and Adolescent

Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh school of Medicine in the study about Normal Childhoods
and Response to Childhood of Mentally Handicapped. The purpose of this paper was to further
understand the mentally retarded child and his family, and review the psychiatrists role in the
assessment and treatment of the common emotional disorders found therein. Appropriate
assessment techniques, frequently noted emotional disorders, parental responses, and helpful
treatment modalities will be reviewed. Psychotherapy with the mentally retarded child is
challenging, diverse and demands greater attention from the mental health profession.
SUSAN C. THOMPSON BS (1998) from South Carolina Department of Disabilities And

Special Needs, Columbia studied on Aging Parents of Adult Children with Mental; Retardation.
This paper describes the study of aging parents of adult children with mental retardation. The
challenges faced by aging parents are discussed from the perspective of life-span development
psychology. This study examines whether there are differences based on age of parent in
caregiver burdens and caregiver gratifications. No significant differences on the basis of age were
found and analyses of the results suggest that age of parent may be less helpful in understanding
the experiences of life-long care giving than family context and history.
Recommendations for practice and policy are discussed
Analysis of stress factors and Adjustment mechanisms towards these factors in parents of
mentally retarded children in their special school in Sari in 1998. E.IIALI; R.ESMAEELI. The
families who take care of their mentally retarded are faced with numerous problems. These
problems are varied correspondingly with the degree of retardation, physical disability and the
excitement associated with it, interests, values and other external conditions of members.
Regarding the importance of this subject, in order
to determine the stress factors and adjustment mechanisms in the parents of mentally retarded children,
this study was conducted. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study done on 98 parents of mentally
retarded children. Sampling was done by census. Results: The findings showed three domains of stress
factors. The highest level of stress in the social domain in mother and father was 62% and 54%
respectively. The highest level of adjustment related to the psychological domain in mother and father
was 58% and 61% respectively. On the basis of relationship between stress factors and parental
demographic variants, there were relationship between the level of education, occupational status of
parents, marital status, the duration of marriage, number of mentally retarded children, age of mentally
retarded children and the time of diagnosis of mental retardation and the stress factors. There were also
relationship between adjustment mechanisms with parental demographic variants such as; occupational
status, duration of marriages, the number of mentally retarded children, the sex of mentally retarded
children, the sex of mentally retarded children and the duration of the education of children.
CONCLUSION
According to the results, we could say that they the level of stress in mothers in more than the
fathers, and it was shown that fathers have more adjust mental abilities as compare to mothers.
BETTY V. GRALIKER (1998) University of Southern California School of Medicine and the Los
Angeles Childrens Hospital. Initial Reactions and concerns of parents to a diagnosis of mental
retardation in their children are considered in 67 families. The cause of the retardation and
rejection of the child were the two chief areas of objective concern. Other reactions were
rejections of the diagnosis and solicitude for other medical problems of the child. Even after
complete diagnostic study, ejection of the diagnosis of the retardation occurred in one third of
these families. Our data suggest that initial counselling of parents of retarded children should be
centred primarily on a discussion of diagnosis, aetiology, and immediate; problems. Subsequent
counselling
Should be directed towards the problems of future case. The importance of sympathetic follow-up care by
the physician is emphasized.
A study of Facilitators and Inhibitors that affect copying in Parents of Children with Retardation
in India, Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal, 1998. A study was conducted to examine
the facilitators and inhibitors to coping by parents who have children with mental retardation.
The sample consisted of 218 parents who were studied in three centres from different parts of
India. The patterns of facilitators and inhibitors to coping elicited during the examination of
parents are discussed in this paper. The authors suggest that the results of this study may provide
directions for the establishment of rehabilitation services in future. The results indicate that
parents reported Physical support from within and outside the family as the most
importantfacilitator, followed by Professional support, Financial support, Faith in God,
Working out problems on ones own, Self-determination and Inspiration from spouse or
Guru. Thirty eight parents (17.4%) reported that nothing had helped them in copying.
People with mentally challenged have mildly varying languages abilities with the most severe
instances of mentally challenged, speech may not develop at all and communication may be
limited to external devices or nonverbal gestures. Absence of speech, however is not necessarily
an indication of extremely low IQ and even in their particular syndromes such as Down
syndrome, there is considerable variability in language strength and weakness (SMITH &
PHILIPS 1999) research has shown however that there is often more consistency within
syndromes related to mentally challenge than other IQ category levels (TAGER- FLUSBERG,
1999).
RAHI JS,MANARAS I. TUOMANINEN H, HUNDT GL (2000), Centre for paediatric

epidemiology and biostatistics, institute of child health, United Kingdom. Meeting the needs of
parents around the time of diagnosis of disability among their
children, the study reputed the impact on the experience of parents and the practices of health
care professionals of novel, hospital based, key worker service.
Child Health Care 2003 this qualitative study used forms groups to identify the difference and
similarities in the experience of parents of children with a disability. Two main themes emerged,
showing the ways in which the mothers and fathers alike or different. One concern roles, actual
and expected, in various subsystems of family life. The other concerns, the normalisation and the
stigmatization that arise because of the childs problem. Mother tends to choose better in terms of
interpersonal and group communication. It would seem that fathers attuned to outer world; the
actual day-to-day torts related to childs care and their priority. The mother is less demanding and
their expectations are more self-focused. Interestingly, these families are similar to families of
children without disability; however, the difficulties and they experience dare accentuated by the
presence of a child with a problem.
SHALIGRAM D, GIRIMAJI SC, CHATURVEDI SK (2007) Department of Psychiatry, National

Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India. The study is aimed to assess
psychological problems and quality of life (QOL) in children with Thalassemia. This study was
conducted by the Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and
Neurosciences, Bangalore. The sample consisted of children of either sex (aged 8-16 years) with
confirmed diagnosisof transfusion dependent thalassemia attending the day care facility at 2
general hospitals Bangalore. Those with mental retardation and other chronical illness including
seizures were excluded from the study. Forty four percent of the children had psychological
problems and 74% had poor QOL. These psychological problems were similar to that seen in
other chronic physical illness but had not been recognised nor treated. The study also
demonstrated an association between untreated psychological problems and poor HRQOL. It is
well known that psychological disturbancesadversely affect compliance to treatment in
thalassemia as in other chronic illness. We suggest that due to importance the recognition and
management (medicine, psychological interventions e.g. individual
Therapy, family intervention packages, self-help groups) of psychological problems would improve
treatment outcomes including the HRQOL.
B.MAUGHAN, S. COLLISHAW and A.PICKLES Institute of Psychiatry, London 2007.
Evidence on the adult adaptation of individuals with mild mental retardation (MMR) is sparse ,
and knowledge of the factors associated with more and less successful functioning in MMR
samples yet more limited. For many individuals with MMR, living circumstances and social
conditions in adulthood were poor and potential stressors high. Self-reports of psychological
distress in adulthood were markedly elevated, but relative rates of psychiatric service use fell
between childhood and adulthood, as reflected in attributable risks. Childhood family and social
disadvantage accounted for some 20-30% of variations between MMR and non-retarded samples
on a range of adult outcomes. Early social adversity also played a significant role in contributing
to variations in functioning within the MMR sample.
Chapter-III
Research Methodology
Chapter-III
Research Methodology
INTRODUCTION
Research is an academic activity which gives creativity, thinking and knowledge. The
goal of research is progress and development for a good and comfortable life. Research has
proved to be an essential and powerful tool in the modern world. Research is a matter of rising
questions and then trying to find answer to the question. It is a vital process in the developmental
process of human civilization. Research is ant of scientific investigation which adopts proper
methods and techniques for solving problems; it seeks to find explanations to an explained
phenomenon, to clarify the doubtful facts to correct the misconceived facts. Research
methodology is a significant and vital step in research work because it involves preliminary
works in a chronological order and it shows a current methodology in project. The aim of the
research is to find out psycho social problems and coping strategies of parents of mentally
challenged children.
RESEARCH
Research means search for knowledge. It aims at discovering new facts or truth. It is the search
for knowledge through objective and systematic methods of finding solutions to problem. Therefore
research is a process of systematic and in-depth study or search for particular topic, subject of area of
investigation backed by collection, presentation and interpretation of relevant data.
TITLE OF THE STUDY

A Study on the Psychosocial Problems and Coping Strategies of Parents of Mentally Challenged
Children
AIM OF THE STUDY
To study the psychological problems and coping strategies of parents of mentally retarded
children.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
To study the demographic details of the respondents.
To access the level of psychosocial problems of the respondents.

To assess the level of coping strategies of the respondents.
To find out the factors influencing key variables.
To find out the relationship between the key variables.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research design is a logical and systemic plan prepared for directing a research study. In
the research is the researcher used descriptive research design for the study, which is concerned
with describing the characteristics of a particular individual or a group. The researcher tries to
find out the psychosocial problems and coping strategies of parents of mentally challenged
children. Descriptive research design was used for the study.
UNIVERSE & SAMPLING
i. Universe of the study
The universe of the present study is eighty children who are studying in Shilpaspecialschool at
Cochin, Kerala.
ii. Sampling
Sampling is the process of drawing a sample from the universe. A part of the universe is
called a sample. The sample size for the study is 60 which was selected using lottery
method. The researcher used the simple random sampling with lottery method to collect
the data.
PROFILE OF THE AGENCY
SHILPA Society was formed in June 1996 as a charitable society to provide the
selfless service to the mentally disabled and improve their quality of life.
About 2 to 3% of our population are mentally disabled and there is a great need for
special centres. Trapped in disobedient bodies and minds these innocent children andtheir
families look upon the society to lend a helping hand so that they too realise that life is
for love, laughter, dreams and hopes.
Infants and small children are screened at the clinic and when disability is suspect they
are bought at regular intervals and early stimulation programs including physiotherapy is
given (Home management training)
It has been found that early intervention can drastically improve this condition as, 80% of
brain growth is completed by years of age. A team of doctors provide this selfless service.
PILOT STUDY
Pilot study is the preliminary study of the topic concerned. It gives the
researcheran idea about the different variables involved, nature of the problem, and
possible difficulties in data collection. The researcher selected the problem after various
discussions with his guide. The researcher also had discussions with concerned persons
like psychiatrists and mental health professionals.
PRE-TEST
The items for interview schedule were prepared after discussing with the
researchers guide. The structured interview schedule was prepared in English. In order to
find out the validity of the structured interview schedule a pre-test was conducted with 10
respondents. The pre-test, unnecessary questions were removed and relevant questions
were added. The pre-test samples were not included in the study.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTING RESPONDENTS
Included only the parents of mentally challenged children with the age group of
below 18years. The study excluded the parents who have children with mentally
retardation who were above 18 years of age.
TOOLS OF DATA COLLECTION
For this study Interview Schedule was used, it consist of three parts. First part
consist of personal data of the data respondents which includes age, gender, education,
occupation, area of residence, religion, type of the family, family income.
The second part includes 2 standardized scales
1) Psychosocial problem scale developed by Manual and Nicholas (1992). The scale
contain 20 statements. It is a four point scale, the scores are always (4), Sometimes
(3), rarely (2), never (1). All the questions are positive the highest possible score is 80
and lowest score is 20. Higher the score higher the Psychosocial problem. It is
divided into Low, Moderate and High.
2) Coping strategies scale developed by Folk man and Lazarus (1989) the scale contains
18 statements and 7 negative he statements. Four point scale was used to measure the
coping strategies the scoring attributed positive questions are 0,1,2,3 and negative
questions are 3,2,1,0 the maximum score is 54 and minimum score is 0. Positive
questions: (1,3,4,6,8,10,11,12,15,17,18), Negative questions: (2,5,7,13,14,16). Higher
the score higher the level of coping. It is divided into Low, Moderate and High.
DATA ANALYSIS
The researcher collected the data through interview schedule. The data was analysed and
master sheet was prepared. The data was presented in simple table. The collected data was
entered into SPSS. Simple Percentage, ANOVA, t Test and Co-relation was done.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
As it was conducted in one agency it cannot be generalised.

The response given by the respondents cannot be purely trusted as they seemed to be
defensive to certain questions.
Many respondents were not interested to reveal their family problem to their researcher.
The time was limited.
DIFFICULTIES FACED BY THE RESEARCHER
The researcher had to take much effort to convenience the mentally challenged Childrens
parents regarding the purpose of the study and its importance.
OPERATIONALISATION OF CONCEPTS
Psychological problem
Problems that occur in ones psychological functioning can be referred to as psychosocial

dysfunction or psychosocial morbidity.
Coping strategies
Coping strategies refer to the specific efforts, both behavioural and psychological, that people
may employ to master, tolerate, reduce or minimize stressful events.
Mental Retardation
Mental retardation (MR) is a condition diagnosed before age 18, usually in infancy or prior to
birth, that includes below average intellectual function, and a lack of the skills necessary for
daily living.
Parents
A parent is a caretaker of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is of a child.
Here it is the parents of mentally retarded children.
Children
A child generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of
majority. Here children means children with mental retardation.
Chapter-IV
Analysis and Interpretation

CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
TABLE NO. 01
1. DETAILS OF THE RESPONDENTS
DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BSED ON RELATIONSHIP WITH CHILD
SL.NO RELATIONSHIP FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

WITH CHILD
Father 17 28
1
Mother 43 72
2
Total 60 100
From the above table it is clear that majority of the respondents of the study 72% are more of the
children. 28% of respondents were fathers of children
CHART: 1
Distribution of respondents on their relationship with child
Sales
72%
Father Mother
TABLE NO. 02
DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENT BASED ON AGE
SL.NO AGE FREQUENCY PERCENTGE
1 21-25 1 2
2 26-30 7 12
3 31-35 8 13
4 36-40 8 13
5 41-45 36 60
Total 60 100
From the above table it is clear that majority of the respondents of the study 60% are
from age group 41 to 45 years. 13% each of respondents are from age 31 to 35 years and 36 to 40
years. 12% of respondents are from the age group 26 to 30 years. Only 2% of respondents are
from the age group 21 to 25 years.
CHART: 2
Distribution of respondents based on their age
60%
12% 13% 13%
2%
21 to 25 26 to 30 31 to 35 36 to 40 41 to 45
TABLE NO.3
DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENT BASED ON EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION
SL.NO EDUCATIONAL FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

QUALIFICATION
1 Illiterate 0 0
2 SSLC 44 73
3 Plus Two 9 15
4 UG 7 12
5 PG 0 0
6 Above PG 0 0
From the above table it is clear that majority of respondents of the study 73% are having
educational qualification of SSLC. 15% have education of Plus Two. 12% have educational
qualification of UG. None of them are illiterates.
CHART: 3
12%
15%
SSLC
Plus Two
UG
73%
Distribution of respondents based on their educational qualification

TABLE NO. 4
DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BASED ON OCCUPATION
SL.NO OCCUPATION FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
1 Business 1 2
2 Agriculture 0 0
3 Employed 22 36
4 Unemployed 37 62
Total 60 100
It is clear from the above table that majority of the respondents 62% are unemployed.
36% of respondents are employed. Only 2% of respondents do business. None of them do
agriculture.
CHART: 4
Distribution of respondents based on their Occupation

2%
36%
Business
Employed
Unemployed
62%
TABLE: 5
DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BASED ON DOMICILE

SL.NO DOMICILE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
1 Rural 0 0
2 Urban 60 100
3 Semi Urban 0 0
Total 60 100
From the above table it is clear that all the respondents 100% are from urban area.
CHART: 5
Distribution of respondents based on their Domicile
100%
0%
Rural
Urban
TABLE NO.6
DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BASED ON TYPE OF FAMILY
SL.NO TYPE OF FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

FAMILY
1 Joint 0 0
2 Nuclear 60 100
3 Extended 0 0
Total 60 100
From the above table it is clear that 100% of the respondents of the study belong to
nuclear family.
TABLE NO.7
DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BASED ON NUMBER OF

CHILDREN
SL.NO NO OF FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

CHILDREN
1 1-3 54 90
2 4-6 6 10
3 7-9 0 0
Total 60 100
From the above table it is clear that majority of the respondents 90% have 1 to 3 children.
10% of respondents have 4 to 6 children. None of the respondents have 7 to 9 children.
CHART: 6
Distribution of respondents based on the number of children

10%
90%
1 to 3 4 to 6 0
TABLE NO.8
DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BASED ON FAMILY MONTHLY

INCOME
SL.NO FAMILY FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
INCOME
1 Below 5000 6 10
2 Above 5000 Below 48 80

10000
3 Above 10000 6 10
Total 40 100
From the above table it is clear that majority of the respondents 80% have a family
monthly income of below 10000 but above 5000. 10% of respondents have their income below
5000. 10% of respondents have monthly income above 10000.
CHART: 7
Distribution of respondents based on their family monthly income
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr
10% 10%
80%
II. INFORMATION OF THE CHILD
TABLE NO. 9
DISTRIBUTION OF CHILDREN BASED ON AGE
SL.NO AGE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
1 1-5 7 12
2 6-10 14 23
3 11-15 39 65
TOTAL 60 100
It is clear from the above table that majority of children of respondents of the study
(65%) are from the age group of 11 to 15years.23% children of the respondents are in the age
group of 6 to 10 years. 7% of the respondents are in the age group of 2 to 5 years.
CHART: 8
Distribution of children based on their age
65%
23%
12%
1 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 15
TABLE NO.10
DISTRIBUTION OF CHILDREN BASED ON GENDER
SL.NO GENDER FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
1 Male 34 57
2 Female 26 43
TOTAL 60 100
From the above table it is clear that majority of the children of the study are male (57%).
Only 43% of the children are female.
CHART: 9
Distribution of respondents based on their gender

31%
Male
Female
0
69%
TABLE NO: 11
DISTRIBUTION OF CHILDREN BASED ON RELIGION
SL.NO RELIGION FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
1 Christian 19 32
2 Hindu 23 38
3 Muslim 18 30
4 Others 0 0
Total 60 100
It is clear from the above table that majority of the respondents of the study (38%) are
Hindus. 32% of the respondent children are Christian. 30% of the respondents are Muslims.
CHART: 10
Distribution of respondents based on their Religion
30%
38%
32%
Christian Hindu Muslim Others

TABLE NO. 12
DISTRIBUTION OF CHILDREN BASED ON EDUCATIONAL STATUS
SL.NO STUDYING FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
1 Yes 60 100
2 No 0 0
Total 60 100
From the above table it is clear that 100% of the respondents children are studying.
TABLE NO.13
DISTRIBUTION OF CHILDREN BASED ON THEIR STUDY PLACE
SL.NO PLACE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
1 School 60 100
2 Day Care 0 0
Total 60 100
From the above table it is clear that 100% of the respondents children are studying in
school.
TABLE NO.14
DISTRIBUTION OF CHILDREN BASED ON PLACE OF RESIDENCE
SL.NO PLACE OF FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

RESIDENCE
1 Hostler 0 0
2 Day Scholar 60 100
Total 60 100
From the above table it is clear that 100% of the respondents of the study are day
scholars.
TABLE NO.15
DISTRIBUTION OF CHILDREN BASED ON DEGREE OF MENTAL

RETARDATION
SL.NO DEGREE OF MR FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
1 Mild 28 47
2 Moderate 23 38
3 Severe 7 12
4 Profound 2 3
Total 60 100
From the above table it is clear that majority of the children 47% have Mild degree of
mental retardation. 38% have moderate level of mental retardation. 7% have severe degree of
mental retardation. Only 3% of children have profound degree of mental retardation.
CHART: 11
Distribution of respondents based on Degree of mental retardation

Mild Moderate Severe Profound
TABLE NO. 16
DISTRIBUTION OF CHILDREN BASED ON THE POSITION OF CHILD
IN THE FAMILY
SL.NO ORDINAL FREQUENY PERCENTAGE

POSITION
1 First 32 54
2 Second 23 38
3 Third 0 0
4 Fourth 3 5
5 Fifth 2 3
6 Sixth 0 0
Total 60 100
From the above table it is clear that majority of the children of study 54% are the first
children of the parents. 38% of children are second child. 5% of children are fourth. Only 3% of
children are fifth. None of them are sixth.
CHART: 12
Distribution of child based on their Ordinal Position in the family
5% 3%
First
Second
38% 54% Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
TABLE NO. 17
DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BASED ON THE LEVEL OF

PSYCHOSOCIAL PROBLEM SCORE
SL.NO PSYCHOSOCIAL FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

PROBLEM
1 Low 0 0
2 Moderate 36 60
3 High 24 40
TOTAL 60 100
having moderate level of psychosocial problems. None of the respondents have low level of
psychosocial problems.
CHART: 13
Distribution of respondents based on their level of Psychosocial Problem
40%
Low
Moderate
High
60%
TABLE NO.18
DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS BASED ON THE LEVEL OF

COPING STRATEGY SCORE
SL.NO COPING FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

STRATEGY
SCARE
1 Low 12 20
2 Moderate 12 20
3 High 36 60
TOTAL 60 100
having high level of coping strategy score. 20% of respondents are having low coping strategies
and 20% of respondents are having moderate level of coping.
CHART: 14
Distribution of respondents based on their level of coping

20% 20%
Low
Moderate
High
60%
TABLE NO. 19
SIGNIFICANCE TEST (t) FOR COMPARISON OF PSYCHOSOCIAL
PROBLEM SCORE AND RELATIONSHIP WITH CHILD
Relationship of the N Mean Std. Std. Error

informant with the child Deviation Mean
Psycho Social Problem 17 2.4706 .51450 .12478

Father Scale Mother 43 2.3721 .48908 .07458
T Df Sig. (2-tailed)
.693 58 .491.491
Calculated Value 0.693
T Value 1.960
Level of Significance 0.5%
The t-test was applied to find whether there is significant difference between the psychosocial
problem and relationship with child. The calculated value is 0.693 is lesser than the table value
of 1.960. Since the calculated value is lesser than the table value it is inferred than there is no
significant difference between the relationship with child and the psychosocial problems.
TABLE NO.20
Anova table comparing psychosocial problem score with age of respondents
N Mean Std. Deviation
21-25 1 3.0000 .
26-30 7 2.7143 .48795
31-35 8 2.6250 .51755
36-40 8 2.3750 .51755
41-45 36 2.2778 .45426
Total 60 2.40000 .49403
Psycho Social Problem Scale
Sum of Df Mean Square F Sig.

Squares
Between
Groups 1.999 4 .500 2.217 .079
Within 12.401 55 .225
Groups
Total 14.400 59
F Value 2.52
One way ANOVA was applied to find whether the mean Psycho social problem score differs
significantly with the age of respondents. The ANOVA result shows that the calculated F ratio
value is 2.217 which is less than the table value of 2.52. Since the calculated value is less than
the table value it is inferred that the psychosocial problems do not differ significantly according
to the age of the respondents.
TABLE NO. 21
Anova table comparing psychosocial problem with educational qualification of respondents
SSLC 44 2.4091 .49735
Plus Two 9 2.5556 .52705
UG 7 2.1429 .37796
Total 60 2.4000 .49403
Sum of df Mean Square F Sig.

Squares
Between
Groups .684 2 .342 1.422 .250
Within Groups 13.716 57 .241

Total 14.400 59
F Value 3.15
One way ANOVA was applied to find whether the mean Psycho-social problem scores differ
significantly with the education of respondents. The ANOVA result shoes that the calculated F
ratio value is 1.422 which is less than the table value of 3.15. Since the calculated value is less
than the table value it is inferred that the psychosocial problems do not differ significantly
according to the educational qualification of the respondents.
TABLE NO. 22
Anova table comparing psychosocial problem with occupation of respondents
Business 1 2.0000 .
Employed 22 2.3636 .49237
Unemployed 37 2.4324 .50225
Total 60 2.4000 .49403
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between
Groups .228 2 .114 .459 .635
Total 14.400 59
Calculated Value - .459
F Value 3.15
Level of Significance- 0.5%
significantly with the occupation of respondents. The ANOVA result shows that the calculated F
ratio value is 0.459 which is less than the table value of 3.15. Since the calculated value is less
than the table value it is inferred that the psychosocial problems do not differ significantly
according to the occupation of the respondents.
TABLE NO. 23
Anova table comparing psychosocial problem with the number of children of respondents
1-3 54 2.4074 .49597

4-6 6 2.3333 .51640
Total 60 2.4000 .49403
Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups .030 1 .030 .120 .731

Total 14.400 59
Calculated Value 120
F Value 4.00
One way ANOVA was applied to find whether the mean Psycho-social problem scores
significantly with the number of children of respondents. The ANOVA result shows that the
calculated F ratio value is 0.120 which is less than the table value of 4.00. Since the calculated
value is less than the table value it is inferred that the psychosocial problems do not suffer
significantly according to the number of children of the respondents.
TABLE NO. 24
Anova table comparing psychosocial problem with family monthly income of respondents
1-5000 6 2.1667 .40825

5001-10000 48 2.4375 .50133
10001-15000 6 2.3333 .51640
Total 60 2.4000 .49403

Squares
Between
Groups .421 2 .210 .858 .429
Total 14.400 59
Calculated Value .858
F Value 3.15
significantly with the family monthly income of respondents. The ANOVA result shows that the
value is less than the table value it is inferred that the psychosocial problems do not differ
significantly according to the family monthly income of the respondents.
TABLE NO. 25
SIGNIFICANCE TEST (t) FOR COMPARISON OF COPING STRATEGY SCORE AND

RELATIONSHIP WITH CHILD
Coping strategy scale N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Relationship of the 0-18 12 1.8333 .38925 .11237

Informant with the child
19- 36 1.6389 .48714 .08119
36
T df Sig (2- tailed)
1.253 46 .217
Calculated value 1.253
T Value 1.960
The t-test was applied to find out whether there is significant difference between the coping
strategy and relationship with child. The calculated value is 1.253 which is lesser than the table
value of 1.960. Since the calculated value is lesser than the table value it is inferred that there is
no significant difference between the relationship with child and coping strategies.
TABLE NO. 26
Anova table comparing Coping strategies scale with age of respondents.
21-25 1 2.0000 .
26-30 7 2.1429 .69007
31-35 8 2.3750 .74402
36-40 8 1.8750 .83452
41-45 36 1.9167 .55420
Total 60 2.0000 .63779

Squares
Between Groups 1.643 4 .411 1.010 .410
Total 24.000 59
F Value 2.52
One wat ANOVA was applied to find whether the mean coping strategy scores differ
significantly with the age of respondents. The ANOVA result shows that the calculated F ratio
value is 1.010 which is less than the table value of 2.52. Since the calculated value is less than
the table value it is inferred that the Coping strategies do not differ significantly according to the
age of respondents.
TABLE NO.27
Anova table comparing Coping strategies scale with education of respondents
SSLC 44 1.9773 .62835

Plus Two 9 1.8889 .78174
UG 7 2.2857 .48795
Total 60 2.0000 .63779
Squares
Between
Group .705 2 .353 .863 .472
Total 24.000 59
F Value 3.15
One way ANOVA was applied to find whether the Coping strategy scores differ significantly
with the education of respondents. The ANOVA result shows that the calculated F ratio value is
0.863 which is less than the table value of 3.15. Since the calculated value is less than the table
value it is inferred that the Coping strategies do not differ significantly according to the
educational qualification of the respondents.
TABLE NO.28
Anova table comparing Coping strategies with occupation of respondents

Business 1 2.0000 .
Employed 22 2.0000 .61721
Unemployed 37 2.0000 .66667
Total 60 2.0000 .63779

Squares
Between Groups .000 2 .000 .000 1.000
Total 24.000 59
Calculated value - .000
F Value 3.15
One way ANOVA was applied to find whether the mean Coping strategy scores differ
significantly with the occupation of respondents. The ANOVA result shows that the calculated F
ratio value is .000 which is less than the table value of 3.15. Since the calculated value is less
than the table value it is inferred that the Coping strategies do not differ significantly according
to the occupation of the respondents.
TABLE NO. 29
Anova table comparing Coping strategies scale with the number of children of respondents.
1-3 54 2.0185 .62919

4-6 6 1.8333 .75277
Total 60 2.0000 .63779

Squares
Between Groups .185 1 .185 .451 .505
Total 24.000 59
F Value 4.00
significantly with the number of children of respondents. The ANOVA result shows that the
value is less than the table value it is inferred that the Coping strategies do not differ significantly
according to the number of children of the respondents.
TABLE NO.30
Anova table comparing Coping strategy scale with monthly family income of respondents
1-5000 6 2.0000 .89443

5001-10000 48 2.0417 .61742
10001-15000 6 1.6667 .51640
Total 60 2.0000 .63779
Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.

Between .000 2 .000 .000 1.000
Groups
Total 24.000 59
F Value 3.15
significantly with the monthly family income of respondents. The ANOVA result shows that the
value is less than the table value it is inferred that the Coping strategies do not differ significantly
according to the monthly family income of the correspondents.
TABLE NO.31
CORRELATION BETWEEN PSYCHOSOCIAL PROBLEM SCORE AND COPING

STRATEGIES SCALE
Correlations
Psycho Social Coping

Problem Strategy
Scale Scale
Psycho Social Problem Person 1 -108
Scale Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) 413
N 60 60
Coping Strategy Scale Person -.108 1
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed) .413
N 60 60
Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level.
Correlation analysis was applied to find the degree of relationship between the level of
psychosocial problem and the level of coping strategies. The correlation score shows that there is
a good correlation between the level of psychosocial problem score and the level of coping
strategy score.
Chapter v
MAJOR FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND
CONCLUSION
CHAPTER V
Findings, Suggestions and Conclusions
Findings
The data collected from 60 respondents have been analysed and the major findings of the
study are presented this chapter as follows.
1. SOCIO DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS

More than half (65%) of the respondents children belong to the age group of 11 to 25
years.
57% of the respondents children are male.
38% of the respondents children are Hindus.
47% of the respondents children have mild mental retardation.
54% of the respondents children belong to the first ordinal position of the family.
Majority (72%) of the respondents are mothers,
Majority of the respondents (60%) belong to the age group 41 to 45.
Majority of the respondents (62%) are unemployed.
100% of the respondents live in urban area.
100% of the respondents are from the nuclear family.
Most of the respondents (90%) have 1 to 3 children.
Most of the respondents (80%) are earning RS 5000 to 10000
2. Level of key variables
Majority of the respondents (60%) have moderate level of psychosocial problem.
Majority (60%) of the respondents belong to the category of moderate level of
coping.
3. ANOVA AND t TEST
There is no significance difference between the relationship with child and the
psychosocial problems.
There is no significant difference between the psychosocial problems and the age of the
respondents.
There is no significant difference between the psychosocial problem and educational

qualification of the respondents.
There is no significant difference between the psychosocial problems and the
occupation of respondents.
There is no significant difference between the psychosocial problem and the number of
children of respondents.
There is no significant difference between psychosocial problem and family monthly
income of respondents.
There is no significant difference between the relationship with child and the coping
strategies.
There is no significant difference between the coping strategies and age of the
respondent.
There is no significant difference between the coping strategies and educational
qualification of the respondents.
There is no significant difference between the coping strategies and occupation of
respondents.
There is no significant difference between the coping strategies and number pf children
of respondents.
There is no significant difference between coping strategies and family monthly
income of respondents.
4. CORRELATION
There is no significant association between psychosocial problems and coping strategies.
SUGGESTIONS
1. Regular awareness is needed for parents to solve their psychological and adjustmental
problems.
2. Awareness must be given to parents as to what are various ways that lead to mentally
3. Parents must be educated as to how to bring up the child using modern technologies of
training.
4. Government should provide many institutions for mentally challenged children.
5. The government should provide occupational training to mentally challenged children,
since parents are worried about their childrens future.
6. Government should provide financial support to the parents of mentally challenged
children.
7. The doctor should frankly tell the parents if they detect a mentally challenged child has
been born.
8. The siblings and the peer groups of the mentally challenged children should be taught
how to mingle with them.
CONCLUSION
The researcher has done a study on the psychosocial problems and coping strategies of
parents faced by mentally challenged children. The questionnaire was structured according to the
specific objective of the study. The samples of the study were parents of mentally challenged
children. The researcher tried to understand the psychosocial problems encountered by them and
also the coping strategies. The researcher also tried to understand the pattern of behaviour shown
by the parents and their extent of awareness regarding the mentally challenged children, but the
positive aspect is that they are inquisitive to know as to whether there is a cure for the mentally
challenged. Most of them find it difficult to look after the siblings of mentally challenged
children. This is due to the fact that extra care has to be given to mentally challenged children.
Therefore, most of the parents prefer to send their mentally challenged child to institutions such
as Shilpa Special School.
This study has been carried out to enumerate level of Psychosocial Problems and
Coping Strategies of Parents of Mentally Challenged Children. Having a disabled child in the
family is a continuous source of stress to the family members. Not only the retarded child but
the whole family affected to this. But this study shows that is not necessary that every family of
retarded children will have negative impact but in some families this problem can create a
positive impact, like acceptance of this situation realistically, standing right behind the
retarded child and provide support. In this study parents of 60 mentally challenged children
were selected. The study was carried out at the Shipa special school at Cochin, Kerala.
In conclusion it can be said that having an intellectually abnormal child is not altogether a
sign of so-called bad fate or misfortune to everyone, but it can also be a challenge which
strengthens the parents of those children. But at the same time some are able to cope up with
such situation and some experience psychosocial problems to the family members and it can
affect them negatively in many ways and more attempts should be made for primary prevention
of mental retardation.
The present study helped the researcher to know each respondent personally and to know
their various levels of the psychosocial problems and Coping strategies of the parents of mentally
Bibliography
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Anil Malhotra (2004) Social psychology. Mac Millian India Limited, New Delhi.
2. Allen Rubi (1998) Research methods for social work, Book publishing California.
3. Bhatia M.S (2000) Essentials of Psychiatry. CBS Publishers, New Delhi.
4. David.G.Elemes (2003) Research methods in Psychology. Wads worth publishing USA.
5. Duane, Sydney Ellen (2004) Psychology & Work today, Pearson education publishing
Singapore.
6. Earl Babbi (1991)The Practice of Social Research. Wads Worth Publication, Belmont
Calif.
7. Ferland. Peter S (2003) Introduction to Psychology, Brown publishers, USA.
8. Prof.Jayachandran.P. (1997) Mental retardation and associated disabilities, Brown
publishers, USA.
9. Lynda Crane (2001) Mental Retardation A community Integration Approach. Wads
Worth Publication, Belmont, Calif.
10. James.W.Kalat (2002) Introduction to psychology, Wads worth publication, USA.
11. Mangal SK (2002) Abnormal psychology. Sterling paper backs publishing, New Delhi.
12. Michael Gelder (2001) Psychiatry. Oxford University Press, USA.
13. Niraj Ahuja (2006) A Shoot Text Book of Psychiatry. Jayper brother medical Publishers,
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14. Robert.A.Baron, Donn Byrne (1996) Social Psychology Prentice Hall of India, New
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WEBSITES
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www.wikipedia.com
http://www.google.com/m?q=pubmud.com&client
http://www.google.com/m?q=google+scholar.com&client
http://www.google.com/m?q=emerald+insight.com&client

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Chapter I

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

Delays in oral language development

Standing, walking, running, squatting.

Picking up small objects using fingers, example stringing beads.

Eliminating and cleaning toileting.

Interacting with people.

2. Childhood and early adolescence (06-12 years)

Functional academic, in the areas of reading, numbers, writing, time money

Performing domestic activities

Using community services, such as

Involving themselves in recreational activities games, clubs

Learning vocational skills

CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN WITH MENTAL RETARDATION

Mental retardation means substantial limitations in age-appropriate intellectual and adaptive

Deficits in cognitive functioning and learning styles characteristic of individuals with

Generalization of Learning. Students with disabilities, especially those with mental

CAUSES OF MENTAL RETARDATION

This type of abnormality may be due to:

An extra chromosome (Trisomy) a child with Downs syndrome

An extra chromosome (monosomy) a female child with turners syndrome

Deletion and duplication, a part of the chromosome is missing (deletion): a part is

Translocation as in Downs syndrome. Where one of the pair in the 21 st chromosome

Mosaic, where some cells have the normal number of chromosomes

Infections (rubeela, cytomegalovirus. Syphils, toxoplasmosis)

Injury (accidents, child abuse)

Unfavourable institutional environment

TYPES OF MENTAL RETARDATION

(i) Mild Mental Retardation (I.Q TO 70)

(ii)Moderate Mental Retardation (I.Q to 49)

(iii)Severe Mental Retardation (I.Q 20 to 34)

(iv)Profound Mental Retardation (I.Q below 20)

General Achievements of Persons with Mental Retardation

School age phase

(6-15 years old)

Adolescence and adulthood

(16 years old or above)

Overall development is slower than peers.

Over all development is obliviously slower than peers

Significant discrepancy in overall development when compared with peers

How Can Parents Help Their Child with Mental Retardation

During school age:

Maternal and Child Health Centers / Paediatric departments of Hospital / Private

Child A Assessments Centers

Support services in schools

Outreach support of Special Education Services

Health promotion is directed at

(b) Specific Protection

ii) Tertiary Prevention

Treatment of physical and psychological (by drugs behaviour modification)

ii) Secondary Prevention (Early diagnosis and treatment)

EFFECTS OF MENTAL RETARDATION ON THE PARENTS

Distress, feelings of rejection

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS FACED BY PARENTS OF MENTALLY

7. WORRY ABOUT THE FUTURE

8. MARITAL FAMILY PROBLEMS

HOW PARENTS COPE WITH A MENTALLY COPED CHILD

This study has five chapters.

This chapter deals with the review of Literature.

This chapter deals with the Research Methodology.

GODDESS J. OZGUL S. OWEN C, FOLEY Evano L (1982) of Australian National

GAYTON WF (1995), in their study on Management Problems of Mentally Retarded

KAUR, ANUPAM, DHILLON (1996), Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,

MARTIN J. LUBETSKY (1997), from the Department of child and Adolescent