Spina Bifida Children and Their Parents: A Population Prone to Family Dysfunction?

Spina bifida children of normal intelligence and their parents were compared with a carefully matched control group of nondisabled children and their parents in a hierarchically oriented assessment of individual, marital, and family functioning. Contrary to popular hypotheses that families with a ha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of pediatric psychology 1986-09, Vol.11 (3), p.359-374
Main Authors: Spaulding, Barbara R., Morgan, Sam B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child, Preschool
coping
disability
Family
family functioning
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Illness and personality
Male
Parents - psychology
Psychology and medicine
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Social Adjustment
spina bifida
Spina Bifida Occulta - psychology
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Summary:Spina bifida children of normal intelligence and their parents were compared with a carefully matched control group of nondisabled children and their parents in a hierarchically oriented assessment of individual, marital, and family functioning. Contrary to popular hypotheses that families with a handicapped child are especially vulnerable to stress and psychological problems, results across all measures revealed no differences between the two groups. Further, no differences were found between mothers and fathers on the various measures. These results support the view that nonretarded spina bifida children and their parents have no special psychological characteristics that distinguish them from nonhandicapped children and their parents. The findings also underscore the strengths and coping skills of handicapped children and their families. The tendency of researchers and clinicians to focus on the deviant aspects of these populations may obscure the fact that many may be adapting successfully.
ISSN:0146-8693
1465-735X
DOI:10.1093/jpepsy/11.3.359