Rodina M.A., Blokh M.E. Characteristics of maternal attitudes towards preschoolers with intellectual disabilities

The relevance of the study is determined by both the theoretical need to deepen the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the formation of maternal attitude in the context of raising children with intellectual disabilities and the practical significance in developing support measures for such families.

The aim of the study is to analyze the characteristics of maternal attitudes towards preschool-aged children with intellectual disabilities.

The study was conducted at compensatory and general education kindergartens. A total of 89 mothers participated in the study: 45 mothers of children with intellectual disabilities, forming the main group, and 44 mothers of neurotypical children, included in the comparison group. The average age of the mothers is 34,96 years, and the average age of the children is 4,87 years.

Research methods included collecting data on the demographic characteristics of respondents and the course of pregnancy and childbirth using a specialized questionnaire, the Biographical Questionnaire (V.A. Chiker), the Beck Depression Inventory (A.T. Beck), adapted for retrospective assessment; the Semantic Differential Test by Ch. Osgood, using the definitions “I as a Mother” and “My Child”; the Parental Attitude Test (A.Ya. Varga, V.V. Stolin); and the Child Behavior Checklist (A.T. Achenbach), adapted for parental assessment (Dmitriev, Belov, Parfenov).

The study identified key predictors influencing the level of maternal acceptance of the child. It was found that high internal resourcefulness of the mother, expressed in the strength of the self, contributes to more pronounced acceptance of the child. In contrast, an increased level of maternal depression reduces the degree of acceptance, highlighting the importance of the mother's psychoemotional state in shaping parent-child relationships. Maternal social activity also positively influences acceptance. Furthermore, the child's behavioral characteristics, such as withdrawal and aggression, negatively affect maternal acceptance, indicating a relationship between the child's emotional and behavioral traits and parenting style. 

The obtained results emphasize the complex influence of personal, emotional, and social factors, both on the part of the mother and the child, on the formation of parent-child relationships.

Key words: maternal attitude, preschool children, intellectual disabilities

For citation: Rodina, M.A., Blokh M.E. (2025). Characteristics of maternal attitudes towards preschoolers with intellectual disabilities. New Psychological Research, No.2, 145–166. DOI: 10.51217/npsyresearch_2025_05_02_08