The Effects of Mentally Handicapped Children on Families–a Conceptual Review

Byrne, Elizabeth; Cunningham, Cliff

doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1985.tb00602.x

Cited by 141 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Patterson's early work, which examined coercive interaction with mothers, fathers, and siblings, indicated that mothers were the most common partners in coercive exchanges with their aggressive child (Patterson, 1980). Studies of families of children with disabilities show that mothers assume a larger portion of caregiving responsibilities for the child (see Byrne & Cunningham, 1985). Our initial assessment of routines was consistent with these findings, showing that mothers were primary caregivers for their child with a disability, and that child problem behaviors often occurred in routines in which the father was not present.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Validating the Construct of Coercion in Family Routines: Expanding the Unit of Analysis in Behavioral Assessment with Families of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Lucyshyn

Irvin²,

Blumberg³

et al. 2004

Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities

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We conducted an observational study of parent-child interaction in home activity settings (routines) of families raising young children with developmental disabilities and problem behavior. Our aim was to empirically investigate the construct validity of coercion in typical but unsuccessful family routines. The long-term goal was to develop an expanded ecological unit of analysis that may contribute to sustainable behavioral family intervention. Ten children with autism and/or mental retardation and their families participated. Videotaped observations were conducted in typical but unsuccessful home routines. Parent-child interaction in routines was coded in real time and sequential analyses were conducted to test hypotheses about coercive processes. Following observation, families were interviewed about the social validity of the construct. Results confirmed the presence of statistically significant, attention-driven coercive processes in routines in which parents were occupied with non-child centered tasks. Results partially confirmed the presence of escape-driven coercive processes in routines in which parent demands are common. Additional analysis revealed an alternative pattern with greater magnitude. Family perspectives suggested the social validity of the construct. Results are discussed in terms of preliminary, partial evidence for coercive processes in routines of families of children with developmental disabilities. Implications for behavioral assessment and intervention design are discussed. HHS Public Access Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptAuthor Manuscript Author ManuscriptAlthough there have been significant advances in our understanding of child problem behavior and parent-child interaction (Patterson, 1982;Stormshak, Bierman, McMahon, & Lengua, 2000), very little of this knowledge has been developed in the context of families raising children with developmental disabilities. The etiology of problem behavior in the context of parent-child interaction in the home has been studied in non-disabled populations almost exclusively (McMahon, 1994;Reid, Patterson, & Snyder, 2002). Despite significant social costs of problem behaviors for families of children with disabilities (Singer & Irvin, 1991), the scientific literature includes few studies that address processes of parent-child interaction that develop and maintain problem behaviors among these families (Floyd & Phillipe, 1993). Furthermore, there are no studies in the developmental disabilities literature that have examined the way in which typical family contexts may affect the development of child problem behavior. Such research is viewed as necessary if we are to develop behavioral family interventions that are acceptable, effective and sustainable when used by parents in natural family settings (Bristol et al., 1996). Although there is growing empirical evidence for the effectiveness of positive behavioral interventions for children with disabilities and problem behavior (Koegel, Koegel, & Dunlap, 1996), there is only modest evidenc...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Validating the Construct of Coercion in Family Routines: Expanding the Unit of Analysis in Behavioral Assessment with Families of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Lucyshyn

Irvin²,

Blumberg³

et al. 2004

Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities

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“…This finding is consistent with those of other studies (Kaminsky and Dewey 2002) but not consistent with others which suggest that the existence of a CD has a negative effect on siblings (Crnic, Friedrich, and Greenberg 1983;Byrne and Cunningham 1985).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Siblings in Greek families: raising a child with disabilities

Tsamparli

Tsibidaki

Ρούσσος

2011

Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research

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The study focuses on siblings of children with disabilities (CD) in order to investigate: (a) basic components of the sibling personality (self-concept, selfesteem, feelings of loneliness, main needs, nature of anxiety, and attitudes), (b) the representation of family functioning and parental figures, and of social environment, and (c) sibling relationship. The sample consisted of 20 families raising a CD and 20 families raising children without disabilities (CWD). The total number of participants was 151 individuals (80 parents and 71 children). The measures used were the following: (a) self-report measures: (1) Self-concept Scale for Children Lipsitt There were statistically significant differences in the way they experienced sibling rivalry, maternal figures, and social environment. The study suggests that siblings of CD react in three ways towards their brother/sister: (a) they are protective, (b) distanced, and (c) present infantile behaviour.

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“…Variables such as the families' socio-economic circumstances or the nature and severity of the child's impairments were rarely considered as possible sources of difference in family response. Byrne and Cunningham (1985) have commented that these failures contributed to the self-fulfilling nature of the assumptions of homogeneity and pathology.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

“…These approaches include investigating which families or family members are vulnerable to the stress engendered by the presence of the child, which aspects of caring for the child are stressful, what are the unmet service needs of families, which families cope with and adapt to the stresses and how they do so (Beckman, 1983;Quine and Pahl, 1985;Crnic, Friedrich and Greenberg, 1983;Turnbull, Brotherson and Sumners, 1984;Kornblatt and Heinrich, 1985;Schilling et af., 1984;Chetwynd, 1985Chetwynd, , 1986Kirkham et af., 1986). Byrne and Cunningham (1985) provide a comprehensive review of these studies. Stress experienced by the carers of children with learning difficulties is an important issue because it affects both the well-being of the mothers and the outcome for the children.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Stress and coping in mothers caring for a child with severe learning difficulties: A test of Lazarus' transactional model of coping

Quine

Pahl

1991

Community & Applied Soc Psy

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The literature on psychological stress among women consistently points to the adverse effects of child rearing on mothers, particularly those caring for children with physical or mental handicaps. Early studies of the effects on family functioning of caring for a child with severe learning difficulties adopted a pathological approach in which it was assumed that psychological distress was inevitable among family members, particularly mothers. Recent research has emphasised that many families cope with and adapt to the stress they experience, and seeks to discover how they do so.The paper reports on a study of 166 mothers caring for a child with severe learning difficulties. The aim of the study was to investigate both the factors associated with maternal stress and those which might mediate or buffer the effects of stress. The study used the Folkman and Lazarus ' (1979) transactional model of stress. Stress is the condition that results when persodenvironment transactions lead the individual to perceive a discrepancy between the demands of a situation and hisher resources or ability to cope with those demands. The nature and type of coping generated by a person will be determined by the coping resources in the person's environment. The model identifies five categories of coping resource: utilitarian resources, healtWmorale, social networks, general and specific beliefs, and problem solving skills. In our study, the five coping resources were represented by the mother's social class and appraisal of her financial worries, physical health, social support, acceptance of and adjustment to the child, and assessment of coping skills. Stress was measured by the Malaise Inventory (Rutter, 1970).Four of the five coping resources were found to be significant contributors in a hierarchical regression analysis of stress scores, contributing additional variance beyond that of behavioural and other child characteristics. Altogether, 55% of the variance in stress scores was explained.

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The Effects of Mentally Handicapped Children on Families–a Conceptual Review

Cited by 141 publications

References 42 publications

Validating the Construct of Coercion in Family Routines: Expanding the Unit of Analysis in Behavioral Assessment with Families of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Validating the Construct of Coercion in Family Routines: Expanding the Unit of Analysis in Behavioral Assessment with Families of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Siblings in Greek families: raising a child with disabilities

Stress and coping in mothers caring for a child with severe learning difficulties: A test of Lazarus' transactional model of coping

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