Stress experiences of mothers of children with ADHD: significant coping strategies that safeguard their mental health

Introduction: Being a mother is a challenging task that comes with its occasional stress. This is especially true when taking care of a child with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It is important to understand the association between the stress experienced by the mothers with their mental health and the type of coping strategies that could be a buffer for them. This study examined the relationship between parental stress, coping strategies, and depressive symptoms among mothers of children with ADHD in which a significant interaction between these variables were hypothesized. Materials and Methods: A total of 94 Malay mothers with a mean age of 39.67 participated in a workshop related to ADHD in which a questionnaire was provided to them that consists of Parental Stress Inventory-Short Form (PSI-SF), Brief-COPE, and Centre of Epidemiological Study-Depression (CES-D) scales. Multiple regression was then used to analyse the interaction between the variables. Results: Stress from parental sacrifices (β = 0.61, p < 0.001), stress from behavioural expression (β = -0.57, p < 0.05), problem-focused coping (β = -0.72, p < 0.001), and coping through social support (β = -0.82, p < 0.001) was found to be a significant predictor to depressive symptoms. Problem-focused coping was found to significantly moderate the relationship between parental sacrifice and depressive symptoms (β = -0.053, p < 0.01). Conclusion: Mothers who are experiencing parental stress are at risk of increase in depressive symptoms but can be mitigated with problem-focused coping strategies.