Factors Influencing the Psychological Wellbeing of Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities in Selected Public Primary Schools in Kiambu County, Kenya

Abstract

The study examined factors influencing the psychological wellbeing of parents who have children living with learning disorders in Ruiru Sub County, Kiambu County. The study objectives were to assess the psychological wellbeing of parents; to examine demographic factors influencing the psychological wellbeing of parents; to evaluate the psychological challenges experienced by parents and explore the coping mechanisms employed by parents who have children with learning disabilities in Kiambu County. The researcher used a descriptive study design and drew study samples using probability sampling technique (stratified sampling technique) for quantitative data and qualitative data. To collect the data, the study utilized a sociodemographic questionnaire, Brief Cope Scale and DASS 21 and analyzed the data using SPSS 22.0. The study targeted 143 participants and achieved 100 valid responses, yielding a high response rate of 93.5%. The sample was heavily skewed toward females (92%), with only 8% male representation. Female parents reported significantly higher levels of depression (M = 6.2, SD = 4.8) and anxiety (M = 5.9, SD = 4.5) compared to males (depression: M = 4.1, SD = 3.2; anxiety: M = 3.8, SD = 2.9), t(98) = 2.1, p = 0.039. The data indicated significant mental health concerns, with 10% of the participants reporting severe symptoms and 20% participants experiencing extremely severe symptoms. Parents with older especially 16–21-year-olds showed the worst mental health (r=0.32) and highest avoidant coping (r=0.35) while male children were linked to 22% higher anxiety (r=0.22) and 24% more avoidant coping. Larger Families with 4-5 children also correlated with worse outcomes (r=0.18-0.25). Majority of parents experienced feeling of being overwhelmed, marriage turmoil, and lack of spouse support (each reported by 77.8% of participants). These challenges showed strong associations with poor psychological wellbeing, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.54 to 0.58 on the DASS scale. Financial strain, while slightly less common at 66.7%, demonstrated equally strong negative effects on psychological wellbeing (r=0.52).Problem-focused coping demonstrated strong protective effects, with consistently negative correlations across all DASS variables outcomes (r = -0.38 to -0.47, p < 0.001). Regression analysis confirmed that higher use of problem-focused strategies significantly predicted lower depression (β = -0.39), anxiety (β = -0.34), and stress (β = -0.41). In contrast, avoidant coping showed the most harmful associations, exhibiting the strongest positive correlations with DASS variable outcomes (r = 0.54–0.62, p < 0.001) and the largest regression coefficients (β = 0.48–0.56), marking it as the most detrimental coping style. Emotion-focused coping played a mixed role, with weaker but still significant positive correlations (r = 0.28–0.35) and modest regression effects (β = 0.19–0.26). The study made six recommendations and suggested further research on parent’s wellbeing focusing on both longitudinal and cross-cultural perspectives.