Experience of Strain Among Types of Caregivers Responsible for Children With Serious Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Abstract

Parents and relative caregivers of children with severe emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) often report high levels of strain associated with the care of that child.This study compares how parents and other relative caregivers, and different family caregiver groups, experience strain. Overall, we found that Medicaid caregivers ( n = 648) reported high levels of objective strain, whereas military caregivers ( n = 978) had high scores on the subjective internalized and externalized subscales of the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire (CGSQ). An exploratory common factor analysis showed that overall,the CGSQ performed similarly for the Medicaid and the military caregivers and was generally consistent with previous research showing three factors. However, among Medicaid caregivers, other relatives ( n = 109) reported two rather than one type of objective strain, and emotionally based items had lower correlations with the latent factor among other relatives as compared with parents ( n = 539).These findings suggest the need to tailor approaches to assisting different groups of caregivers in coping with their strain.

Health-Related Quality of Life of Parents of Children With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…Overall, this suggested that having a child with a HFASDs may indeed negatively influence parents' QOL. This finding is generally consistent with existing literature reflecting lower levels of physical health and mental health for parents of children with developmental disabilities, as well as with some initial reports for parents of children with ASDs (e.g., Benson, 2006;Hastings, 2003;Hastings et al, 2005;Murphy et al, 2007;Pakenham et al, 2005;Taylor-Richardson et al, 2006;Tomanik et al, 2004;Whitley et al, 2001). Compared to the control group, parents of children with HFASDs in this sample reported significantly higher levels of stress and significantly lower levels of adaptive coping and res ources.…”

“…Researchers suggest that caregivers' health may be jeopardized owing to the strain of caring for a child with a disability (e.g., Chou, Lin, & Chang, 2007;Taylor-Richardson et al, 2006;Whitley, Kelley, & Sipe, 2001). Murphy, Christian, Caplin, and Young (2007) qualitatively examined the reports of 40 parents who provided long-term care for their children with severe disabilities.…”

Relationships Between Child Emotional and Behavioral Symptoms and Caregiver Strain and Parenting Stress

“…Higher scores in each dimension reflect more strain. In a sample of caregivers receiving Medicaid (Taylor-Richardson, Heflinger & Brown, 2006), reliability alpha coefficients were .93 for the objective strain scale, .93 for the subjective internalized strain scale, and .78 for the objective externalized strain scale. Internal consistency alpha coefficients for the sample in the current sample were .91 for the objective strain scale, .83 for the subjective internalized strain scale and .75 for the subjective externalized strain scale.…”

“…Historically, the literature on caregiver strain has focused on caring for persons with dementia (Schulz & Martire, 2004), adult children with severe mental illness (Saunders, 2003), or children with developmental disabilities (Green, 2007). Research investigating the impact of child and adolescent emotional and behavioral difficulties on caregiver strain has also received considerable attention (Angold, et al, 1998; Sales, Greeno, Shear, & Anderson, 2004; Taylor-Richardson, et al, 2006). Parenting stress, another important parental outcome is the adverse impact of efforts to adapt to parenting tasks and roles.…”

Caregiver Perspectives During the Post Inpatient Hospital Transition: A Mixed Methods Approach

“…Youth are also at risk of cycling through multiple hospitalizations in a short period of time (Fontanella 2008). Caregivers of youth with EBD experience high levels of financial strain and emotional stress (Brannan and Heflinger 2001;Taylor-Richardson et al 2006). For youth with severe EBD, caregiver strain (e.g., the demands, responsibilities, difficulties, and negative consequences of caring for relatives with special needs) is particularly high (Angold et al 1998;Brannan et al 1997;Vaughan et al 2013).…”