Factors Affecting the Life Quality in Mothers of Children with Disabilities

Cho,  In Sook; Moon,  Kyung Im

doi:2016.20.2.119

J Korean Soc Matern Child Health > Volume 20(2); 2016 > Article

Journal of The Korean Society of Maternal and Child Health 2016;20(2):119-131.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21896/jksmch.2016.20.2.119 Published online May 31, 2016.

Factors Affecting the Life Quality in Mothers of Children with Disabilities

In Sook Cho¹, Kyung Im Moon²

¹Department of Nursing, Kwangju Womens's University, Kwangju, Korea
²Department of Speech Language Pathology, Kwangju Womens's University, Kwangju, Korea

장애아동 어머니의 삶의 질에 영향을 미치는 요인

조인숙¹, 문경임²

¹광주여자대학교 간호학과
²광주여자대학교 언어치료학과

Correspondence: In Sook Cho,
Email: chois@Kwu.ac.kr

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate factors affecting the quality of life in the mothers of children with disability and to identify the relationships between mother's quality of life, self-efficacy, social support and parenting-stress.
Methods
The subjects were 160 mothers of children with disabilities in G city. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS/PC+ 21.0.
Results
There was a significant relationship between mother's quality of life and self-efficacy (p<.001), and their quality of life and social support (p<.001). Mother's Quality of life was negatively correlated with parenting stress as well (p<.001). Variables affecting their quality of life were self-efficacy, social support, parenting-stress and the income of families with children with disability. The four factors accounted for 38.7% of the quality of life.
Conclusion
The results of the study show that self-efficacy, social support and parenting-stress are the most significant factors affecting mother's quality of life. It is urgently needed to develop nursing intervention that will enhance mothers' quality of life, thereby helping them to lead a more decent life.

Key Words: disabilities, quality of life, self-efficacy, social support, parenting, stress