사회적 지지 프로그램이 취학 전 장애아동 어머니의 스트레스와 대처에 미치는 효과 = Effects of a Social Support Program on Stress and Coping among Mothers with Handicapped Preschool Children

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Objectives : The present study was aimed to examine the effect of a social support program provided to the mothers with handicapped preschool children on their stress and coping levels.
Methods : This study was based on a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The social support program was provided to a convenient sample of 18 mothers from 2 Institutions for handicapped preschool children in Gwangju. As a control, 17 mothers from the same Institutions were recruited. The program was given for 120-140 minutes once a week and continued for 7 weeks from April 1 to June 30, 2001. The levels of stress, blood pressure, serum cortisol and coping were measured before and after the intervention. Statistical analysis was done using χ²-test, Fisher's exact probability test and Wilcoxon rank sum test by the SAS PC⁺ program.
Results : The level of stress in the experimental group after the program was significantly less than that in the control(z=2.21, p=0.027). The level of serum cortisol in the experimental group after the program was significantly less than that in the control(z=2.23, p=0.026). No significant difference was noted between the groups in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The level of coping in the experimental group after the program was significantly higher than that in the control(z=1.96, p=0.049).
Conclusions : These results demonstrated that the social support program was helpful for the mothers with handicapped preschool children in lowering stress and serum cortisol levels and increasing coping level. It is suggested that the social support program could be effectively used as a nursing intervention for those with handicapped preschool children.