Parenting Style and Mental Health of Parents Raising Children with Intellectual Disabilities in Ghana.
Parent stress, anxiety, and money strain in Ghana drive all parenting styles sharper, not just one.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Miezah et al. (2025) asked 250 Ghanaian parents of kids with intellectual disability to fill out four short forms.
The forms measured stress, anxiety, depression, money strain, and the parents’ own parenting style.
No kids were taught new skills; the team just looked at how parent feelings lined up with how they parent.
What they found
Parents who scored high on stress, anxiety, or money worries used all three styles more: strict, warm, and permissive.
In plain words, when pressure goes up, parenting becomes more extreme in every direction, not just one.
How this fits with other research
Saunders et al. (2005) already showed that parent thoughts—like feeling in control—predict stress in ID families. Daniel’s team moves the story forward: parent feelings now predict actual parenting moves, not just inside stress.
Enav et al. (2020) found that for moms of mild-ID kids, lowering stress softens the link between risk and bad parenting. Daniel’s Ghana data fit that picture; stress still shapes style, but the effect is bigger for both moms and dads together.
Farajzadeh et al. (2021) saw caregiver burden as the top driver of anxiety and depression in Iranian CP parents. Daniel agrees money strain is a key piece, but adds that anxiety also pushes parents toward stricter or looser rules, not only higher distress.
Why it matters
If you coach families in Ghana—or any low-resource setting—check parent stress and money worries first. A parent who looks “authoritarian” or “permissive” may simply be drowning in anxiety. Link them to respite, cash aid, or stress classes before you try to change how they give directions.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Parenting style adopted by parents is believed to impact parental well-being and development of children including those with intellectual disabilities. While there is large body of literature on parenting style adopted by parents raising children with intellectual disabilities, especially in the western context, limited attempt has been made to understand parental styles and their relationships with the mental health of parents. In this study, a total of 200 parents raising children with intellectual disabilities completed the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire, Depression, Anxiety and Stress scale (DASS-21) and the Financial Stress Scale. The instrument was subjected to correlations and hierarchical multiple regressions. The results showed contribution of mental health in the variance in parenting style. For instance, general stress, anxiety and financial stress made significant contribution in the variance in authoritarian parenting style. Also, general stress, anxiety and financial stress made significant contribution in the variance in authoritative parenting style. Additionally, a relationship was found between permissive parenting, depression, general stress and financial stress. The study concludes with a recommendation for targeted parenting and mental health training for parents raising children with intellectual disabilities in Ghana.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2025 · doi:10.3390/children10020308