Stress appraisal and social support of Chinese mothers of adult children with mental retardation.

Thirty Chinese mothers of adult children with moderate to severe mental retardation were interviewed to explore the source and nature of their stress and social support. Results revealed child-related and parent-related stress specific to these mothers. The most common stressors were future planning and behavioral problems of the target offspring. Mothers received tangible, emotional, and informational support mainly from family members and training center staff. Some evidence was also found for the optimal-matching model of stress appraisal and social support. Regardless of the duration of stress, all forms of support were perceived as equally useful for uncontrollable stress, whereas tangible support was regarded as more useful than informational support for controllable stress.