Influence of social support on marital quality among mothers’ of children with special needs

In India, there is an assumption that children with Special needs have a negative effect on parental marriage and this continues to be perpetuated in the mass media, with reports that such marriages are doomed for divorce. A study done by Spratt, Saylor and Marcias (2007) indicates that families in which children with developmental, neurological or other special care needs exist tend to experience high levels of stress related to raising those children. Social support especially from emotionally close persons as a protective factor can help individuals to deal with stress and buffers the negative effects of life stress on marital satisfaction (Roshtami, 2013). Mothers as primary care givers of children with special needs tend to spend more time with children and involve themselves in stressful situations that are less rewarding than fathers and usually find it difficult to manage. The Aim of the paper is to study the influence of Social Support and Work Status on Marital Quality among mothers of children with special needs. Marital Quality scale and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support were administered on Working and Non- working mothers of children with special needs. The study consisted of 56 participants of which 30 were Non- working mothers and 26 were working mothers. The findings of the study showed that Work status had an influence on the Marital Quality of the mother. In conclusion, working status helps mothers to perceive better social support in terms of providing a financial aid, self- esteem and contributes to their Marital quality.