Development and initial psychometrics of the Mental Health Scale of Parents with Differently-abled Children (MHSPDC)

ABSTRACT Parenting a child with a disability is a very difficult task. This difficulty can further increase with the type and level of child’s disability. Parents experience a wide range of stressors and stress reactions with respect to the disability of their child, which may further impact their physical and mental health. The present study aims to develop a Mental Health Scale for Parents with Differently-abled Children (MHSPDC). Two hundred parents of differently-abled children participated in this study. The findings reveal that MHSPDC has four factors: dismaying insufficiency, state of tribulation, socio-emotional despondency, and dire straits. Furthermore, a significant positive association is found between these four dimensions of the MHSPDC. The study portrays that the scale has good internal consistency, factorial and content validity. Thus, as is evident from the data, the scale is a reliable and valid tool for measuring mental health among the parents of differently-abled children.