Abstract
Caring for a developmentally disabled child can be extremely stressful for many parents. Respite care is designed in part to alleviate this stress. This paper reviews studies that have evaluated the effects of respite care services used by families who have children with developmental disabilities, with an emphasis on parental stress. In general the results of this review suggest that, at least in the short-term, respite care is associated with significant reductions in parental stress for the majority of parents who use it. However, the database on this issue is relatively small and many studies have significant limitations, particularly in their almost exclusive reliance on indirect measures of stress reduction and associated benefits (e.g., increased coping, improved quality of life). Additional research is needed to address these limitations. In the meantime, respite care providers should seek to evaluate the effects on, appropriateness for, and acceptability of its services at the level of the individual family.
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Chan, J.B., Sigafoos, J. Does Respite Care Reduce Parental Stress in Families with Developmentally Disabled Children?. Child & Youth Care Forum 30, 253–263 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014467226528
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014467226528