The Mediating Role of Social Health in Relationship of Parenting Stress and Child-Parent Interaction with Health-Related Quality of Life in Parents of Children with Specific Learning Disorder

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) can predict the amount and impact of the disease, the damages, and inabilities, plus it can measure an individual’s psychological health.

The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of social health in the relationship of parenting stress and child-parent interaction with HRQOL in parents of children with a specific learning disorder (SLD).

This descriptive-correlational study was conducted using path analysis. The study population comprised all parents of children with a specific learning disorder in Andimeshk in 2020-21, among whom 174 parents were selected through convenience sampling. The research instruments included the SF-36 Questionnaire (Weber, 1992), Parenting Stress Index (Abidin, 1992), Child-Parent Relationship Scale (Pianta, 1994), and Keyes's Social Health Questionnaire (Keyes, 1998). The proposed model was evaluated using path analysis with AMOS-25 software.

The results suggested a significant relationship between child-parent interaction and HRQOL (β=0.204, P=0.004), social health and HRQOL (β=0.383, P<0.001), parenting stress and social health (β=-0.561, P<0.001), and child-parent interaction and social life (β=0.152, P=0.016). Furthermore, the indirect paths of parenting stress and HRQOL mediated by social health (P<0.001) as well as the relationship between child-parent interaction and the HRQOL mediated by social health (P=0.021) were all significant.

The final model achieved a desirable good fit. As a result, this model could be considered an important step in understanding the effective factors in the HRQOL in parents of children with SLD.