Factors Affecting the Family Needs of Families of Children with Down Syndrome: A Predictive Study

Abstract

Background: Families who have children with Down syndrome face different requirements because social and demographic elements affect their actual needs through the specific type of social support that they perceive.
Objective: The study investigated which factors predicted family requirements and how selected socio-demographic variables affected this relationship through their mediating role.
Methods: The study used a quantitative cross-sectional design which involved 155 primary caregivers who looked after children with Down syndrome. The researchers used convenience sampling to reach their participants through caregiver networks and online platforms. collected data remotely by using a structured questionnaire which they distributed through Google Forms after the participants had given their electronic informed consent. used multiple linear regression and mediation analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the data which showed both direct and indirect connections between the variables.
Results: The multiple regression analysis showed that only perceived social support could predict family needs through statistical analysis because it led to a strong positive effect with its value of β = 0.879 and p value below .001. The study found that all other variables including employment child age type services family size economic level and educational level did not have any statistically significant results because their p values exceeded .05. The support from a significant other displayed a trend which approached statistical significance with a value of β equal to -0.253 and a p value of 0.053. The model achieved statistical significance through its F(9 108) value of 9.154 and p value below .001 while it explained 43.3 percent of the variance with an R² value of 0.433 and moderate explanatory power. Mediation analysis showed a significant direct effect with p value below .001 for the analysis results while the analysis found no indirect effect because of the p value of 0.935 thus proving that mediation did not occur. Structural equation modeling results supported these findings because they proved that direct relationships remained dominant with only minimal indirect pathways existing between the variables.
Conclusion: Perceived social support is the dominant determinant of family needs, while socio-demographic variables contribute minimally