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Parental perceptions of family adjustment in childhood developmental disabilities
- Authors:
- THOMPSON Sandra, HIEBERT-MURPHY Diane, TRUTE Barry
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 17(1), 2013, pp.24-37.
- Publisher:
- Sage
- Place of publication:
- London
Based on the adjustment phase of the double ABC-X model of family stress, this study examined the impact of parenting stress, positive appraisal of the impact of child disability on the family, and parental self-esteem on parental perceptions of family adjustment in families of children with disabilities. The study was part of a longitudinal survey of families entering community child disability services in the two health regions within the Province of Manitoba in Canada. Participants included 89 mothers and fathers of 61 children with disabilities. For mothers, self-esteem and positive appraisal predicted maternal-perceived family adjustment and mediated the relationship between parenting stress and family adjustment. For fathers, while self-esteem and positive appraisal were not significant in directly predicting perceived family adjustment, self-esteem moderated the relationship between parenting stress and family adjustment. These results suggest that interventions that bolster self-esteem in parents may be useful in enhancing perceptions of family adjustment.
Parental appraisal of the family impact of childhood developmental disability: times of sadness and times of joy
- Authors:
- TRUTE Barry, HIEBERT-MURPHY Diane, LEVINE Kathryn
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 32(1), March 2007, pp.1-9.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Parental positive and negative appraisals of the family impact of childhood disability are tested as early predictors of parental self-esteem and overall family adjustment in households with young children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In this study 103 Canadian families, 103 mothers and 55 fathers independently completed interviews in their home at two time points: 6 months after their child entered childhood disability services (T1), and one year later (T2). Longer-term family adjustment was found to be predicted by level of parental negative appraisal of the family impact of disability, and by level of self-esteem, for both mothers and fathers. For mothers, positive appraisal of childhood disability was also found to predict early family adjustment and was related to enhanced self-esteem. It is concluded that gender differences in parental appraisal of the family impact of childhood disability appear to merge over time. Both positive and negative appraisals appear to coexist and are predictive of mothers' and fathers' perceived overall family adjustment in the longer term.
Patterns of entry to community-based services for families with children with developmental disabilities: implications for social work practice
- Authors:
- HIEBERT-MURPHY Diane, TRUTE Barry, WRIGHT Alexandra
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Family Social Work, 13(4), November 2008, pp.423-432.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The purpose of the present study was to understand, from parents' perspectives, the process of entry to community-based services for children with developmental disabilities and to explore the relationship between patterns of entry and parent-reported needs and priorities for service. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 43 mothers and 29 fathers of children with developmental disabilities approximately 6 months after the families entered community-based childhood disability support services in Manitoba, Canada. Analysis of the coded interview data resulted in the identification of three process factors influential in the entry of families to community-based support services: recognition of problems in child development, formal diagnosis of child disability and linkage between diagnostic services and the community-based support system. Analysis of these processes identified four patterns of service entry associated with differing family needs for service: early entry, prompt entry, delayed entry and atypical entry. The results can be understood as a typology useful for social workers in the assessment of family needs and priorities at the point of entry to community-based services.
Predicting family adjustment and parenting stress in childhood disability services using brief assessment tools
- Authors:
- TRUTE Barry, HIEBERT-MURPHY Diane
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 30(4), December 2005, pp.217-225.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The utility of two “psychosocial sensor measures” was explored for triage use in childhood disability services to detect households at longer-term risk for parent and family distress. Approximately 6 months after entering childhood disability services, mothers and fathers in 111 Canadian families with a young child with a developmental or cognitive disability identified their family service needs and parenting morale. One year later parents completed standardised measures of parenting stress and family adjustment. Two brief measures assessing family counselling needs and parenting morale detected longer-term family maladjustment from the independent perspectives of mothers and fathers. Although mothers' parenting stress in the longer-term was detected by the set of measures, fathers' parenting stress was only detected by their parenting morale. Brief empirical measures with high face validity may facilitate the process of assessment of service needs, and may help in the early identification of families with higher priority for psychosocial family support resources in childhood disability services.