Maternal Stress and Coping Strategies in Developmental Dyslexia: An Italian Multicenter Study

Association between parenting styles and dyslexia in primary school students: the mediating role of home literacy environment

Background

Despite an increasing amount of research on the relationship between parenting styles and neurodevelopmental disorders, there has been minimal focus on how parenting styles impact children's reading abilities. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential mediating role of the home literacy environment in the connection between parenting styles and dyslexia.

Methods

A total of 212 primary school students from grade 2-5 were recruited for this study. The Chinese Reading Ability Test was used to screen children with dyslexia. The home literacy environment was evaluated using a structured questionnaire that measured the frequency and quality of reading-related activities between parents and children. Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran questionnaire was used to assess the parenting style, including emotional warmth, rejection, overprotection, and anxious rearing. It is a self-report tool filled out by the children themselves, used to assess their perceptions of their parents' parenting styles. The structural equation modeling was carried out to evaluate the direct, indirect, and total effects of parenting styles on dyslexia.

Results

Compared to control group, male children with dyslexia had lower scores in parenting styles characterized by emotional warmth, overprotecting and anxious rearing (p < 0.05), while female children with dyslexia only showed lower scores in anxious rearing (p < 0.05). Children with dyslexia lacked regular reading time (OR = 2.69, 95%CI: 1.04-6.97, p < 0.05), and have higher homework pressure compared to normal children (OR = 7.41, 95%CI: 1.45-37.82, p < 0.05). Additionally, emotional warmth, paternal overprotection and anxious rearing were negatively associated with dyslexia in children (all p < 0.05). Our findings indicate a strong correlation between dyslexia, home literacy environment, and parenting styles. In a structural equation model, the home literacy environment was identified as an independent mediator between parenting styles and dyslexia. The total effect of parenting styles on dyslexia is 0.55, with an indirect effect of 0.68 mediated by the home literacy environment.

Conclusion

The findings of this study indicate that home literacy environment serves as a mediator between parenting styles and dyslexia in children. This study highlights how parenting styles influence dyslexia, offering key insights for aiding dyslexic children and guiding effective interventions.

The experience of parenting a child with dyslexia - A UK perspective with single parents

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that affects the development of literacy and language-related skills, unrelated to intellectual ability. While the impact of parenting an individual with dyslexia (IWD) for married parents has been widely studied, little is known about the impact on single parents. This study explored the lived experiences of single parents of an IWD. Six female participants completed semi-structured interviews discussing their experience of the diagnostic process, support received and general parenting perspectives. Interview transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Three main themes were identified: Navigating the diagnosis; Various levels of support; Battling Misconceptions and Lack of Knowledge. Findings suggested that single parents had a mixed experience, both after receiving the diagnosis and in terms of the support they received from family and schools. Differences in the quality of statutory support were highlighted, implicating the need for improved dyslexia support in schools. Unique challenges of parenting an IWD as a single parent were also identified, highlighting important implications. Future research should explore differences in single fathers' experiences and the impact of dyslexia comorbidities on single parents.

A cross-sectional study to assess the anxiety and coping mechanism among primary caregivers of children admitted in PICU

Introduction

PICU admission of a child may cause anxiety and stress among the caregivers. The criteria for admission to a PICU are terrifying and may legitimately cause parents to fear that their child may pass away or suffer a serious disability. They may be overburdened with stress and anxiety of illness and compliment medical information while trying to maintain a balance with other family demands. They must learn coping mechanisms and use resources to stay stable when they face challenges. Evidence on the coping mechanisms used by primary caregivers to control their stress and anxiety is scarce so this study assessed the anxiety and coping mechanism among the primary caregivers of children admitted in PICU.

Materials and Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 143 primary caregivers by using convenience sampling technique at PICU, AIIMS, Jodhpur, from April 31, 2021, to January 20, 2022. The participants were enrolled after obtaining informed consent and were interviewed by the researcher.

Results

Study findings revealed that primary caregivers had 38% severe anxiety, 54% moderate anxiety, and 8% mild anxiety. They used emotion-focused coping (43.5%) followed by problem focused coping (37.2%) and avoidant coping (19.3%). Also, there was a significant association found between anxiety of primary caregivers and gender of the child (P = 0.012).

Conclusion

Anxiety and stress are one of the expected psychological problems faced by caregivers of children admitted in PICU. Healthcare workers must make concerted attempts to support caregivers adaptive coping mechanisms, so they can retain a sense of balance.

"I struggle at times to see her struggle": Mothers' perspectives on dyslexia-related school struggles and the inter-connected nature of mother and child well-being

INTRODUCTION

Parents of children with dyslexia may be at elevated risk for parenting stress and mental health concerns. Our aim was to explore the emotional experience of growing up with dyslexia in Australia from parents' perspectives. In so doing, we also developed an understanding of parents' own mental health and support needs informed by their lived experience.

METHODOLOGY

Seventeen interviews with mothers of children (9-14 years; 16 with a diagnosis of dyslexia) were analysed using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis approach.

ANALYSIS

Five themes were developed to address our aim: Theme 1: Years in the wilderness: Life before diagnosis; 2: "I struggle at times to see her struggle"; 3. School struggles: Advocating for our children and managing distress; 4. "It's a full-time job" and a "long slog"; 5: Care for the carer: Social support and coping strategies.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analysis suggests that mothers of children with dyslexia may be at elevated risk for mental health concerns. Specifically, chronic worry and stress, secondary distress, challenges to parenting self-efficacy, and lack of support and understanding (feeling isolated) were highlighted as plausible risk factors. Mothers described coping strategies at the community level (e.g., school connectedness) and at the individual level (e.g., "acceptance") as protective.

Parenting Stress in Mothers of Children and Adolescents with Down Syndrome

Parenting stress has deleterious effects on parents, children, and overall family functioning. Parents of children with intellectual disability, including Down Syndrome (DS), show higher levels of parenting stress than parents of typically developing children. This research aimed to (i) evaluate parenting stress levels in a group of mothers of youths with DS using a parent-report questionnaire, (ii) identify children’s individual and clinical features associated with maternal stress, and (iii) identify specific situational life/demographics factors related to maternal stress. Seventy-eight youths with DS underwent a neuropsychological evaluation, whereas mothers completed questionnaires for the assessment of parenting stress and of the child’s emotional and behavioral problems. We found that Parent–Child Difficult Interaction was the domain with the highest percentage of clinical scores (39.7%). Both internalizing and externalizing problems correlated with maternal stress, as well as autistic symptoms. The levels of maternal stress were not associated with any socio-demographic variable. After controlling for child-related correlates of maternal stress and for mothers’ age and education level, unemployed mothers exhibited higher levels of parental distress than employed mothers. The present study highlights that unemployment is related with parenting stress and potentially amenable to policy interventions supporting parents in combining work and family care.

Psychoeducational Challenges in Spanish Children With Dyslexia and Their Parents' Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background

Research during 2020 has been rapidly attending to the impact of COVID-19 on various dimensions of wellbeing (e.g., physical, psychological, lifestyle and routines) on adults and children around the world. However, less attention has focused on the psychoeducational impact on children and their families. To our knowledge, no currently available studies have looked specifically at the impact of COVID-19 on students with dyslexia and their families. Research on this topic is needed to offer greater support for this population of students and their families.

Objective

The main objective of this paper is to examine the psychoeducational impact of the required COVID-19 quarantine in Spain among children with dyslexia and their families.

Method

A sample of 32 children with dyslexia and their mothers participated in this study.

Measures

Children and adolescents with dyslexia and their mother completed several measures before the required national quarantine in Spain and again during the quarantine. Children completed measures of depression, state anxiety, reading activity, and reading motivation. Mothers provided demographic information and completed measures related to students’ emotional and behavioral difficulties as well as parenting stress, parental distress, and a questionnaire about educational problems during quarantine.

Results

Major findings showed that during quarantine, children with dyslexia had increased levels of depression and anxiety symptoms, and parents perceived their children as having more emotional symptoms, hyperactivity-inattention, and conduct problems. During quarantine, children and adolescents with dyslexia also showed less reading activity and less reading motivation. Parents also reported significantly more stress, during quarantine compared to pre-quarantine conditions. Some demographic and psychological variables predicted children’s state anxiety as well parental stress. The questionnaire related to impacts of quarantine also revealed several important findings. For example, nearly all parents of children with dyslexia reported (a) difficulties in establishing study routines, (b) that the quarantine negatively affected their child’s learning, and (c) that they did not receive sufficient help from teachers on how to support their child’s learning. Additionally, the vast majority of the parents were very worried about the child’s learning and school success, the child’s motivation and interest in reading, the child’s peer relations, and the professional skills of the child’s teacher.

Conclusion

This study offers a preliminary investigation into this topic and elucidates several psychoeducational challenges that children with dyslexia and their families have experienced during the quarantine in Spain. Study findings highlight the need to provide immediate support for children with dyslexia and emphasizes the importance of developing prevention programs to mitigate any future negative impacts of COVID-19 on children with dyslexia and their parents.

Application of a non-pharmacological technique in addition to the pharmacological protocol for the management of children's preoperative anxiety: A 10 years' experience

The aim of the study was to investigate how Non- Pharmacological Techniques (NPT), in addition to standard pharmacological techniques, can help to manage and reduce the preoperative anxiety of children waiting for Day Surgery procedures (DS). Isola Serena activity started in 2008 to manage the preoperative time of children waiting for surgery in the playing room. The latter is run by a pedagogist. NPT includes use of games and toys, readings and drawings. A descriptive and comparative study was conducted on 50 children, aged 4 to 12 years, randomly assigned to Isola Serena group ISG and control group CG. All children received standard pharmacological techniques, while those of the ISG also received the NPT. The evaluation of the preoperative anxiety level (modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale) and parent's coping style (Coping Inventory for Stressful Situation) compared the two groups. The ISG showed a significantly lower level of preoperative anxiety than the CG. Parents' coping style was not related to the preoperative anxiety. The activity performed in the Isola Serena Project resulted to be effective for the reduction of preoperative anxiety in children undergoing DS procedures.

Misunderstandings about developmental dyslexia: a historical overview

Developmental dyslexia is a reading disorder unrelated to intellectual disability, inadequate teaching systems or poor motivation for schooling. The first attempts to understand such difficulty of learning to read, connected the problem to a primary 'visual defect'. Since then, several models have been developed. In the last decades, autopsy and histopathological studies on the brain of developmental dyslexics provided neuroanatomical evidence of structural and morphological differences between the normal and dyslexic brains. Furthermore, neuroimaging studies allowed to understand the neural systems of reading and dyslexia. According to more recent studies, developmental dyslexia appears as a language-related neurodevelopmental disorder with a deficit in phonological decoding and visuospatial organization of the language code. Therefore, dyslexia is viewed as a multicomponential and complex disorder. Consequently, rehabilitation should be aimed at both the recovery of linguistic decoding processes and the improvement of visuo-spatial and attentional processes. This brief overview should be a valuable tool for a deeper understanding of dyslexic disorder. Literature searches in Medline, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science identified one hundred articles focusing attention on how this disorder has been considered over the years.