Currently submitted to: JMIR Preprints
Date Submitted: Jul 30, 2025
Open Peer Review Period: Jul 30, 2025 - Jul 15, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Exploring the Links Between Social Support, Anxiety, and Stress Among Mothers of Children with Illnesses
ABSTRACT
Mothers of children with learning disabilities often face significant challenges that can impact their mental health. This study aimed to examine the relationship between perceived social support and levels of anxiety, stress, and depression in this population. A descriptive-correlational design was employed, with a sample of 30 mothers of children with learning disabilities, selected via simple random sampling based on the Morgan table. Data were collected using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet et al., 1988) and the DASS-21 questionnaire (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995), and analyzed with Pearson correlation and stepwise multiple regression. Findings revealed a significant negative correlation between social support and anxiety, stress, and depression, indicating that greater social support is associated with reduced levels of these mental health issues. These results underscore the role of social support in alleviating mental health challenges and suggest implications for counseling interventions targeting this group.
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