Mental Retardation and Parenting Stress

The presence, upbringing and looking after of a mentally retarded child in the family, can become a threat to the mental health of its parents and is the main predisposing factor of stress for the parents. Aim: The purpose of this systematic review is (a) to document the contemporary research bibliography related to the stress of parents with mentally retarded children, (b) to aggregate the factors and secondary parameters based on the contemporary research related to the influence of the (child's) mental retardation on the parents and (c) to show an intercultural aspect regarding the presence of stress to parents with mentally retarded children. Systematic review of research articles published in scientific journals included in the international academic databases HEAL-LING, SAGE, ELSEVIER, WILSON, SCIENCEDIRECT, MEDLINE, PUBMED, PsycINFO, Cochrane, EMBASE, SCIRUS and CINAHL having as search criteria and key words the terms («parental stress and mental retardation» [MeSH], «parenting stress and persons with special needs» [MeSH], «mental retardation and family problems» [MeSH], «stress and parents» [MeSH], «parenting and stress» [MeSH], «mental delay and parents» [MeSH], «developmental disabilities and family stress» [MeSH], «intellectual handicap and parenting» [MeSH], «maternal stress and child with disabilities» [MeSH]). The review has proven that all forms of mental retardation have an important -from a statistic point of viewimpact on the parents' mental health. Anxiety, stress and depression are common symptoms mentioned by the parents. Additionally, there are individual variables such as the husband-wife relationship, the parents' approach to their child's disability, the parental strategies used in order to cope with the daily life of the child's disability and the behavioural problems of their child, all of which contribute to the increase of the level of parental stress. Finally, this review indicates that there is a same level of seriousness of the symptoms and impact of the disability on the parents in counties with different cultures (West - East). However, at the same time, there is a different approach in terms of social support provided to the parents and their everyday stress.