Stress, social support and well-being of Arab mothers of children with intellectual disability who are served by welfare services in northern Israel

Background. The present study examined the influence of a social support system on the level of stress and the sense of personal well-being of 100 Israeli Arab mothers of young children with special needs. Methods. Fifty mothers were served by the welfare services in the Nazareth area while 50 did not get help on a regular basis. A comparison was done between educated, urban mothers, and less-educated, rural mothers. Results. The research results point to a relationship between informal support resources, and the marital and economic stress of the mothers: the higher the amount of the informal support resources, the lower the level of stress that was experienced by the mothers. A relationship between the amount of informal support and level of parental stress was not confirmed. A relationship between the amount of support resources and the personal well-being of the mothers was found: the higher the amount of informal support resources, the higher the sense of well-being of the mothers. A relationship between formal support (the welfare services), and level of stress or personal well-being was not found. Education and place of living were not related to level of stress or personal well-being. Educated mothers from urban areas used the formal support (the welfare services) less than less-educated mothers who lived in rural areas. Conclusions. The findings are interpreted with respect to practice and previous studies.