Fathers and Mothers of School-Age Children With Developmental Disabilities: Parental Stress, Family Functioning, and Social Support

Abstract

Thirty pairs of fathers and mothers who had school-age children with mental retardation and other disabilities were compared with each other and with 32 father and mother pairs of parents of children without disabilities. Responses to family scales indicated that fathers and mothers of children with developmental disabilities did not differ from each other nor from fathers and mothers of children without disabilities in parental stress, family social support, or family functioning. However, parents of children with disabilities experienced a disproportionately greater level of stress relating to their children than did those of children without disabilities. Fathers' and mothers' stress was associated with aspects of family functioning as perceived by themselves and their spouses.

Crianças com síndrome de Down e suas interações familiares

“…Devido às dificuldades em adequar a criança deficiente mental e a necessidade de cuidados extras, são comuns os altos níveis de estresse, principalmente, em mães (Ali & cols., 1994;Dyson, 1997;Hornby, 1995;Lamb & Billings, 1997;Shapiro, Blacher & Lopez, 1998;Sloper, Knussen, Turner, & Cunningham, 1991). No entanto, em nosso estudo, os genitores não relataram estresse pelo fato de terem um filho/ filha com SD.…”

Reducing problem behavior during care-giving in families of preschool-aged children with developmental disabilities

“…The DBC (Einfeld & Tonge, 1991) was used to attain measures of child problem behavior. On this checklist, respondents are required to rate the presence or absence of specific behaviors according to a 3-point scale (0 = not true, 1 = somewhat or sometimes true, 3 = very true or often true).…”

“…Epidemiological studies suggest that behavioral disorders are three to four times more common in children with developmental disability as compared with typically developing children (Rutter, Tizard, Yule, Graham, & Whitmore, 1976). For example, an Australian study (Einfeld & Tonge, 1996) found that 40.7% of children with developmental disabilities had severe behavioral or emotional problems using the Developmental Behavior Checklist (DBC; Einfeld & Tonge, 1991). Researchers also suggest that the severity and persistence of challenging behaviors is greater in children with developmental disabilities (Matson, Gardner, Coe, & Sovner, 1991); and that behaviors such as severe aggression, stereotypic and ritualistic behaviors, autistic-related behaviors, selfstimulation, and self-injury may occur in high frequencies in this population ([Baron-Cohen, 1989] and [Quine, 1986]).…”

“…These parents are at increased risk of experiencing psychological maladjustment (e.g. stress, anxiety, depression) than parents of typically developing children (Dyson, 1997), are often restricted in their relationships and social roles (Turnbull & Ruef, 1996), and often feel burdened and overwhelmed by the numerous tasks associated with their care-giving role (Quittner et al, 1998).…”

Estresse e autoconceito em pais e mães de crianças com a síndrome do X-frágil

“…Contrário a muitos estudos que correlacionam o estresse dos pais à deficiência mental do filho(a) (Dyson, 1997;Perry et al, 1992), Johnston et al (2003) não encontraram associação significativa entre essas duas variáveis, sugerindo que o estresse parental está mais diretamente relacionado à dificuldade de manejar o comportamento de uma criança com a SXF do que aos déficits cognitivos nela presentes. Os autores ressaltam que o diagnóstico definitivo e o esclarecimento das características da síndrome contribuem para aliviar o estresse nos pais, já que estes podem desenvolver expectativas mais realistas sobre o futuro.…”