Abstract
We analyzed data from 87 mothers of children ages 15 to 44 months with cerebral palsy (CP) or no diagnosis, who completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Parenting Stress Index, Support Functions Scale, and Inventory of Social Support. Principal components analysis of the 15 subscales from the 5 measures revealed few cross-measure loadings. Mothers of children with CP (severe or mild) reported higher levels of parenting stress than did mothers of controls. However, cluster analysis of self-report measures yielded a 5-cluster solution, with no diagnostic group differences across clusters. That is, there were no overall differences in self-reported family functioning according to presence or severity of the child's disability. The results are discussed in terms of the organization of family systems and their relationship to child diagnosis. Clinical implications for assessing and working with families are noted.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abidin, R. R. (1990). Parenting Stress Index (Short Form): Test manual. Charlottesville, VA: Pediatric Psychology Press.
Ashby, W. R. (1956). An introduction to cybernetics. London: Chapman & Hall.
Brannan, A. M., & Heflinger, C. A. (2001). Distinguishing caregiver strain from psychological distress: Modeling the relationships among child, family, and caregiver variables. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 10, 405–418.
Cameron, S. J., Dobson, L. A., & Day, D. M. (1991). Stress in parents of developmentally delayed and non-delayed preschool children. Canada's Mental Health, 39, 13–17.
Crnic, K. A., & Friedrich, W. N., & Greenberg, M. T. (1983). Adaptation of families with mentally retarded children: A model of stress, coping, and family ecology. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 88, 125–138.
Darke, P. R., & Goldberg, S. (1994). Father-infant interaction and parent stress with healthy and medically compromised infants. Infant Behavior and Development, 17, 3–14.
Deater-Deckard, K., & Scarr, S. (1996). Parenting stress among dual-earner mothers and fathers: Are there gender differences? Journal of Family Psychology, 10, 45–59.
Dunst, C. J., Jenkins, V., & Trivette, C. M. (1984). Family Support Scale: Reliability and validity. Journal of Individual, Family and Community Wellness, 1, 45–52.
Dunst, C. J., & Trivette, C. M. (1988). Support Functions Scale. In C. J. Dunst, C. M. Trivette, & A. G. Deal (Eds.), Enabling and empowering families: Principles and guidelines for practice (pp. 143–146). Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books.
Dunst, C. J., Trivette, C. M., Hamby, D., & Pollack, B. (1990). Family systems correlates of the behavior of young children with handicaps. Journal of Early Intervention, 14, 204–218.
Gallagher, J. J., Beckman, P., & Cross, A. H. (1983). Families of handicapped children: Sources of stress and its amelioration. Exceptional Children, 50, 10–19.
Goldstein, L. H., Diener, M. L., & Mangelsdorf, S. C. (1996). Maternal characteristics and social support across the transition to motherhood: Associations with maternal behavior. Journal of Family Psychology, 10, 60–71.
Hanson, M. J., & Hanline, M. F. (1990). Parenting a child with a disability: A longitudinal study of parental stress and adaptation. Special Issue: Families. Journal of Early Intervention, 14, 234–248.
Holden, G. H., & Edwards, L. A. (1989). Parental attitudes toward child rearing: Instruments, issues, and implications. Psychological Bulletin, 106, 29–58.
Innocenti, M. S., Huh, K., & Boyce, G. C. (1992). Families of children with disabilities: Normative data and other considerations on parenting stress. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 12, 403–427.
Kazak, A. E. (1987). Families with disabled children: Stress and social networks in three samples. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 15, 137–146.
Kazak, A. E. (1989). Families of chronically ill children: A systems and social-ecological model of adaptation and challenge. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 25–30.
Kazak, A. E., & Clark, M. W. (1986). Stress in families of children with myelomeningocele. Develop-mental Medicine and Child Neurology, 28, 220–228.
Kazak, A. E., & Marvin, R. S. (1984). Differences, difficulties and adaptation: Stress and social networks in families with a handicapped child. Family Relations, 33, 67–77.
Levy-Schiff, R. (1994). Individual and contextual correlates of marital change across the transition to parenthood. Developmental Psychology, 30, 591–601.
Marvin, R. S., & Stewart, R. B. (1990). A family systems framework for the study of attachment. In M. T. Greenberg, D. Cicchetti, & E. M. Cummings (Eds.), Attachment in the preschool years: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 51–86). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
McBride, B. A. (1991). Parental support programs and paternal stress: An exploratory study. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 6, 137–149.
McCubbin, M., Balling, K., Possin, P., Frierdich, S., & Bryne, B. (2002). Family resiliency in childhood cancer. Family Relations, 51, 103–111.
McLinden, S. E. (1990). Mothers' and fathers' reports of the effects of a young child with special needs on the family. Special Issue: Families. Journal of Early Intervention, 14, 249–259.
Mink, I. T., Blacher, J., & Nihira, K. (1988). Taxonomy of family life styles: III. Replication with families with severely mentally retarded children. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 93, 250–264.
O'Connor, T. G., Hetherington, E. M., & Clingempeel, W. G. (1997). Systems and bi-directional influences in families. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 14, 491–504.
Orr, R. R., Cameron, S. J., Dobson, L. A., & Day, D. M. (1993). Age-related changes in stress experi-enced by families with a child who has developmental delays. Mental Retardation, 31, 171–176.
Pianta, R. C., Marvin, R. S., Britner, P. A., & Borowitz, K. C. (1996). Mothers' resolution of their chil-dren's diagnosis: Organized patterns of caregiving representations. Special issue: The caregiving system. Infant Mental Health Journal, 17, 239–256.
Reddon, J. E., McDonald, L., & Kysela, G. M. (1992). Parental coping and family stress: I. Resources for and functioning of families with a preschool child having a developmental disability. Early Child Development and Care, 83, 1–26.
Roberts, R. N., & Magrab, P. R. (1991). Psychologists' role in a family-centered approach to practice, training, and research with young children. American Psychologist, 46, 144–148.
Roussounis, S. H., Hubley, P. A., & Dear, P. R. F. (1993). Five-year follow-up of very low birthweight infants: Neurological and psychological outcome. Child Care, Health, and Development, 19, 45–59.
Sabatelli, R. M., & Bartle, S. E. (1995). Survey approaches to the assessment of family functioning: Conceptual, operational, and analytical issues. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 1025–1039.
Sabbath, B. F., & Leventhal, J. M. (1984). Marital adjustment to chronic childhood illness: A critique of the literature. Pediatrics, 73, 762–768.
Shonkoff, J. P., Hauser-Cram, P., Krauss, M. W., & Upshur, C. C. (1992). Development of infants with disabilities and their families: Implications for theory and service delivery. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 57(6).
Singer, L. T., Song, L., Hill, B. P., & Jaffe, A. C. (1990). Stress and depression in mothers of failure-to-thrive children. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 15, 711–720.
Spanier, G. B. (1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: New scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38, 15–28.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Britner, P.A., Morog, M.C., Pianta, R.C. et al. Stress and Coping: A Comparison of Self-Report Measures of Functioning in Families of Young Children with Cerebral Palsy or No Medical Diagnosis. Journal of Child and Family Studies 12, 335–348 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023943928358
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023943928358