Original Articles
Vol. 19 No. 3 (2025)
https://doi.org/10.4081/itjm.2025.1991

Perceived stress in parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders: psychometric properties of the stress measurement scale in the Moroccan dialect

Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Received: 25 March 2025
Accepted: 29 April 2025
Published: 25 June 2025
627
Views
301
Downloads
61
HTML
Validity, ADHD, bifactorial, Morocco

Authors

Sara Alouane
sara.alouane@uit.ac.ma
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1647-3773
Department of Biology, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development Laboratory, Faculty of Science, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco.
Zakaria Abidli
Health Sciences, Education and Management, Higher Institute of Nursing and Health Technology Professions, Casablanca, Morocco.
Ahmed O.T. Ahami
Department of Biology, Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience and Applied Nutrition Laboratory, Faculty of Science, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco.
Soukaina El Idrissi
Geosciences Laboratory, Departement of Geology, Faculty of Science, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco.
Jamila Riyahi
Department of Biology, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development Laboratory, Faculty of Science, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco.

This research aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the stress scale among parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) by studying the validity, reliability, and cultural adaptation of this scale in the Moroccan context. The sample consists of 57 parents (both mothers and fathers) of children with NDD in different regions of Morocco; it is a self-administered questionnaire designed to assess “the degree to which individuals perceive situations in their lives as stressful”. This study showed that by removing the items Q4 and Q5, Cronbach’s α increases to 0.810, strengthening the reliability of the scale. Regarding the adaptation of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) to the Moroccan context, the adjustment indices revealed a moderate fit of the model to the data. Therefore, the results confirm the validity of the 8-item PSS scale in the Moroccan context. In order to improve the accuracy of the measurements, future research could focus on the integration of physiological biomarkers; an approach combining these two aspects could provide a more comprehensive and nuanced assessment of the stress response, promoting more targeted and effective interventions in the field of mental health and well-being.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC
Plancherel B, Dumont M. Stress et adaptation chez l’enfant sous la direction de Michelle Dumont et Bernard Plancherel (1st ed). Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada: Presses de l’Universite du Québec; 2001. [Book in French].
Berry, JO, Jones WH. The parental stress scale: initial psychometric evidence. J Soc Pers Relat 1995;12:463-72.
Karst JS, Van Hecke AV. Parent and family impact of autism spectrum disorders: a review and proposed model for intervention evaluation. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2012;15:247-77.
Theule J, Wiener J, Tannock R, Jenkins JM. Stress parental chez les familles d'enfants atteints de TDAH: une méta-analyse. J Emot Behav Disord 2010;21:3-17.
Enea V, Rusu DM. Élever un enfant atteint de troubles du spectre autistique: revue systématique de la littérature sur le stress parental. J Ment Health Res In Disabilitie 2020;13:283-321. [Article in French].
Mikolajczak M, Gross, JJ, Roskam, I. Parental burnout: what is it, and why does it matter? Clin Psychol Sci 2019;7:1319-29.
Ben Sedrine Doghri S, Bouderbala A, Ben Hamouda M. Du stress au flow: le coping comme variable intermédiaire. Question(s) de Management 2021;31:29-44. [Article in French].
Berenguer C, Rosello B, Miranda A. Mothers' stress and behavioral and emotional problems in children with ADHD. Mediation of coping strategies. Scand J Psychol 2021;62:141-9.
Guédeney A, Dugravier R. Les facteurs de risque familiaux et environnementaux des troubles du comportement chez le jeune enfant: une revue de la littérature scientifique anglo-saxonne. Psychiatrie de l'Enfant 2006;49:227-78.
Baker BL, McIntyre LL, Blacher J, et al. Pre-school children with and without developmental delay: behaviour problems and parenting stress over time. J Intellect Disabil Res 2003;47:217-30.
Craig F, Operto FF, De Giacomo A, et al. Parenting stress among parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Psychiatry Res 2016;242:121-9.
Biondic D, Wiener J, Martinussen R. Parental psychopathology and parenting stress in parents of adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. J Child Fam Stud 2020;28:2107-19.
Lee EH. Review of the psychometric evidence of the perceived stress scale. Asian Nurs Res 2012;6:121-7.
Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R. A Global Measure of Perceived Stress. J Health Soc Behav 1983;24:385-96.
Yunarti BS, Asaloei SI, Wula P, Werang BR. Stress and performance of elementary school teachers of southern Papua: a survey approach. Universal J Educ Res 2020;8:924-30.
Chamberlain K. (2009). Situer le social dans la psychologie de la santé: réflexions critiques. Cahiers Internationaux de Psychologie Sociale 2009;82:7-24. [Article in French].
Ben Loubir D, Serhier Z, Otmani N, et al. Perceived stress: validation of the translation of a stress measuring scale in Moroccan dialect. Pan Afr Med J 2015;21:280.
Lindström T, Bergman TH, Annerstedt M, et al. Psychometric properties of the parental stress scale in Swedish parents of children with and without neurodevelopmental conditions. Scand J Child Adolesc Psychiatr Psychol 2024;12:10-22.

How to Cite



Perceived stress in parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders: psychometric properties of the stress measurement scale in the Moroccan dialect. (2025). Italian Journal of Medicine, 19(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/itjm.2025.1991
Copyright (c) 2025 the Author(s) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.