Caregiving occupations, health and well-being of Chinese mothers of children with disabilities living in Australia, Singapore and Taiwan.
So Sin Sim, Helen Bourke-Taylor, Mong-Lin Yu and 2 others
PMID 40337003WHAT IT FOUND
Chinese mothers' health and well-being scores did not differ across Australia, Singapore and Taiwan.
Mothers who spent time on emotional regulation or behaviour supervision had worse mental health. Therapists should screen for distress in these cases and assess the family support network.
Key findings
01There were no significant differences between the three groups of mothers in participation in health promoting activities, mental health, mental well-being, personal well-being, perceived stigma and perceived support.
02Mothers who assisted their children with emotional regulation or behaviour supervision reported significantly poorer mental well-being, personal well-being and higher psychological distress than those who did not.
03Mothers who perceived themselves as carers reported lower mental well-being and personal well-being than those who did not identify themselves as carers.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample sizes were small (80-95 per country), limiting generalisability. Convenience and snowball sampling may have introduced bias in the profile of respondents. Self-reported data is subjective and relies on participants' self-awareness. Data collection occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have impacted perceptions of support and well-being. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot determine causality between caregiving occupations and well-being outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The first author was funded by an Australian Government PhD scholarship.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that living in a more inclusive environment (like Australia) automatically leads to better maternal well-being or lower stigma for Chinese mothers, as the study found no significant differences in these outcomes across the three countries.