Mental health and personal growth of Arab mothers of children with and without intellectual developmental disabilities.
Arab mothers of kids with IDD feel more stress yet grow when they use problem-focused coping and hold a strong sense of coherence.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Odeh-Saba (2025) asked Arab mothers in Israel about stress, coping, and personal growth.
Some mothers had children with intellectual disabilities. Others did not.
The team used surveys to measure sense of coherence, social support, and mental health.
What they found
Mothers of kids with IDD felt more stress and lower coherence.
Yet the same group also reported personal growth when they used problem-focused coping.
Strong social support and a clear sense of coherence protected their mental health.
How this fits with other research
Alnahdi (2024) extends these results. In Saudi Arabia, disability-specific support raised family quality of life for mothers of kids with ID or autism.
Peters et al. (2013) foreshadowed the coping link. Active coping buffered depression and kept parenting confidence high among U.S. mothers of teens with developmental disabilities.
Rios et al. (2021) adds a twist. Advocacy can boost family life, but it also stresses every parent. The studies agree: growth and strain coexist; skills and support decide the balance.
Why it matters
You cannot remove the stress of raising a child with IDD, but you can build buffers. Teach mothers concrete problem-solving steps. Link them to disability-specific services. Track and strengthen their sense of coherence in sessions. These moves turn strain into growth.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Raising children with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD) has implications for the mothers' mental health, alongside positive outcomes such as personal growth. AIMS: To explore the experience of Israeli Arab mothers (coping strategies, sense of coherence [SOC], social support) of children with intellectual developmental disabilities-a topic that has not been researched enough through the years-alongside the experience of motherhood in Israeli Arab society in general. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: One hundred ninety-four Arab Israeli mothers, of whom 89 were mothers of children with mild intellectual developmental disabilities and 105 were mothers of children without disabilities, mothers completed self-report questionnaires which contained the Mental Health Inventory (MHI), The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), The Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC), The Support Functions Scale, The Coping Strategies Questionnaire (COPE), and The Family Inventory of Life Events and Changes (FILE). OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Results indicate that mothers of children with ID perceive higher levels of stress, lower levels of SOC and report using more problem focused coping strategies than mothers of typically developed children. Stress, emotional focused coping strategies negatively correlated with MH, while SOC, social support and problem-focused coping were positively associated with MH. Only problem focused coping strategies were found to correlate with personal growth. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Perceived stress and SOC mediated the associations between the study group and MH, while problem-focused coping strategies mediated the association between the study group and personal growth. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: These findings highlight the importance of mothers' resources in enhancing their MH and personal growth. WHAT DOES THIS STUDY ADD?: The study emphasizes the importance of internal and external resources for the mental health of Arab mothers of children with and without intellectual developmental disabilities. Strengthening the mothers' sense of coherence and use of problem-focused coping strategies by professionals may contribute to all mothers, particularly mothers of children with intellectual developmental disabilities.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2025 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2025.104948