Parental involvement and social skills of school-aged children with intellectual disabilities: The role of parenting stress and social support

Yuting Han, Nana Jiang, Yuan Yuan^*
School of Teacher Education, Heze University, Heze, China
* Corresponding Author: Yuan Yuan. Email: email

Journal of Psychology in Africa https://doi.org/10.32604/jpa.2026.069939

Received 03 July 2025; Accepted 05 January 2026; Published online 03 February 2026

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Abstract

This study investigated the effects of parental involvement, parenting stress, and social support on the social skills of school-aged children (6–18 years old) with intellectual disabilities (ID). Data were collected from 280 Chinese parents (mothers = 70.0%, fathers = 30.0%) of children with ID through purposive sampling and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicated that parental involvement not only directly enhanced children’s social skills but also indirectly improved them by alleviating parenting stress, which acted as a partial mediator. Contrary to the stress-buffering hypothesis, social support did not moderate the negative impact of parenting stress on social skills. Theoretically, this study contributes by validating ecological systems theory through a shift in focus from individual deficits to family systems, while also challenging the conventional view of stress-buffering theory. Accordingly, parent-support programs should integrate practical involvement training with systematic stress reduction and provide tailored assistance such as behavior-management training and respite care.