TY  - EJOU
AU  - Han, Yuting 
AU  - Jiang, Nana 
AU  - Yuan,  

TI  - Parental involvement and social skills of school-aged children with intellectual disabilities: The role of parenting stress and social support
T2  - Journal of Psychology in Africa

PY  - 2026
VL  - 36
IS  - 1
SN  - 1815-5626

AB  - 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.
KW  - Children with intellectual disabilities; social skills; parental involvement; parenting stress; social support

DO  - 10.32604/jpa.2026.069939