family crisis: diagnosis of a severely disabled child

• Published in: Marriage & family review 1987-09, Vol.11 (1/2), p.107-118
• Main Author: Harris, S.L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: child care; children with disabilities; Developmental disabilities; Disability; Disease; family crises; Health; Illnesses; Mental disorders; People with disabilities; Preventive medicine; support systems
• ISSN: 0149-4929; 1540-9635

Psychologists, sociologists, and social workers have drawn extensively upon the concept of the family life cycle as a useful framework for understanding the transitions that people experience through the course of their lives in a family (Carter & McGoldrick, 1980; Figley & McCubbin, 1983; McCubbin & Figley, 1983). This work has increased our sensitivity to the normal transitions such as the birth of a child, adolescence, and old age, that families encounter over time and has facilitated the study of family coping mechanisms for adapting to these changes. It is important to remember that most families manage to adapt quite well to the needs of their handicapped child. For example, we have few data to suggest that the incidence of severe psychopathology is greater among these families than others (e.g., Koegel, Schreibman, O'Neill & Burke, 1983) although a number of studies have found a higher frequency of stress related symptoms such as depression and somatic complaints among the parents of severely disabled children as compared to other families (e.g., Cummings, 1976; Cummings, Bayley & Rie, 1966; DeMyer, 1979). There have been several recent discussions of effective coping patterns of families of developmentally disabled (Bristol, 1984; Bristol & Schopler, 1983) and chronically ill children (Patterson & McCubbin, 1983a, 1983b). I have discussed elsewhere some issues of clinical intervention with these families (e.g., Harris, 1982, 1983, 1984). Patterson, J. M. & McCubbin, H. I. (1983). Chronic illness: Family stress and coping. In C. R. Figley & H. I. McCubbin (Eds.). Stress and the family Volume II: Coping with catastrophe. (Pp. 21-36). NY: Brunner/Mazel. (a)