A Correlational Study On Parental Stress And Parental Attitude Towards Seeking Counselling Support Among Parents Of Adolescents.

Abstract

This study examined parental stress and attitudes toward seeking counselling support among parents of adolescents in Mangalore. A descriptive correlational design was used with a sample of 100 parents of adolescents aged 12 to 19 years, selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Parental Stress Scale (PSS) and the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Short Form (ATSPPH-SF), along with a socio-demographic profile sheet. The findings revealed that most participants, both male and female, reported moderate levels of parental stress and moderate attitudes toward seeking counselling support. The Shapiro–Wilk test indicated that parental attitude was not normally distributed, so non-parametric tests were used for analysis. Spearman's rho showed no significant relationship between parental stress and attitude toward seeking counselling (r = −.002, p = .986), leading to acceptance of the null hypothesis. The Mann–Whitney U test further showed no significant gender differences in either parental stress (p = .540) or parental attitude (p = .757). These findings suggest that parental stress alone does not determine whether parents are willing to seek professional counselling support, and that other personal and social factors may play a more important role.