Parents of children with disabilities are at risk for high stress and low marital quality; therefore, this study surveyed couples (n = 112) of children with Down syndrome (n = 120), assessing whether respite hours, stress, and uplifts were related to marital quality. Structural equation modeling indicated that respite hours were negatively related to wife/husband stress, which was in turn negatively related to wife/husband marital quality. Also, wife uplifts were positively related to both wife and husband marital quality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSingle mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders are rarely studied, yet they may experience unique stressors. Researchers asked 122 single mothers to complete questionnaires concerning respite care, daily hassles/uplifts, depression, and caregiver burden. More than half (59.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are at risk for having higher stress and lower marital quality than other parents. Survey data regarding respite care, marital quality, and daily hassles and uplifts were obtained from 101 mother-father dyads who were together raising at least one child with ASD (total # of children = 118). Number of hours of respite care was positively related to improved marital quality for both husbands and wives, such that a 1-h increase in weekly respite care was associated with a one-half standard deviation increase in marital quality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough a large body of literature exists supporting the relationship between positive parenting and child outcomes for typically developing children, there are reasons to analyze separately the relevant literature specific to children with developmental disabilities. However, that literature has not been synthesized in any systematic review. This study examined the association between positive parenting attributes and outcomes of young children with developmental disabilities through meta-analytic aggregation of effect sizes across 14 studies including 576 participants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn order to discover if differences or relationships exist between religiosity, spirituality, and marital relationships, 111 parents raising a child with a disability (CWD) and 34 parents raising typically developing children independently completed self-report questionnaires assessing religiosity, spirituality, and marital relationships. Parents raising typically developing children scored higher on private and public religiosity and marital satisfaction than parents raising a CWD; mothers scored higher on religiosity variables than fathers. Mothers' ratings of spirituality and family type (disability or typically developing child) predicted their ratings of marital conflict.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this descriptive exploratory study was to explore the meaning of being a sibling using Parse's human becoming perspective. Twelve children between 5 and 15 years of age with a younger sibling with a cleft lip and palate or Down Syndrome participated. Through semi-structured interviews and the use of art, children talked about their experiences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe professional literature provides ample evidence that individuals with autism exhibit a myriad of unusual social, communication, and behavioral patterns of interactions that present challenges to their families and service providers. However, there is a dearth of quality works on multicultural issues regarding autistic spectrum disorders. In this article, we explore issues surrounding autism and multiculturalism, with the intent not to provide answers but to raise questions for further examination.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe presence of a child with disabilities elicits a variety of stress demands on the family. Religion is recognized as a powerful personal, family, and cultural variable. However, little is known about the influence of religion in dealing with disability among families within particular religious groups.
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