Browsing by Subject "children with disabilities"
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Item Parents Raising Children with Disabilities: Predictors and Determinants of Wellbeing(2012-10-19) Resch, James A.Background: The purpose of the present study was to identify and evaluate possible determinants of wellbeing and psychological adjustment in parents raising children with disabilities. Two studies drawing from the same sample of participants were conducted. Method: One-hundred and forty parents raising children with disabilities participated in this investigation. Participants completed a survey consisting of basic demographic characteristics of the parent, child-disability characteristics, parent problem solving ability, access to information and resources, environmental/social supports, appraisals of threat and growth, and measures of life satisfaction and physical/mental health. The purpose of study one was to evaluate possible determinants of parent wellbeing using a contextual model. The purpose of study two was to identify factors that predict depression risk status for parents raising children with disabilities. Results: Study one used structural equation modeling to test a hypothesized contextual model of parent wellbeing. Results of study one indicated strong model fit. In addition, after controlling for the contribution of parent demographic variables, the largest contributors to parent wellbeing were parent problem solving ability, access to resources, environmental/social supports, and parent appraisals of threat. Child functional impairment was not significantly associated with parent wellbeing. Study two found that 19 percent of participants were at risk for depression. Moreover, using tests of mean differences and hierarchical logistic regression, study two found that parents at-risk for depression were significantly more likely to report physical health problems, ineffective problem solving abilities, lower family satisfaction, and more appraisals of threat compared to parents not at-risk for depression. These factors combined to predict significantly depression risk status with the at-risk group being identified with 83.3 percent accuracy. Conclusion: Implications related to the importance of resources and environmental/social supports, appraisals of threat and growth, and problem solving abilities on the overall wellbeing and emotional health of parents raising children with disabilities are discussed.Item Psychological Characteristics and Adjustment in Caregivers of Children with Severe Neurodisability with Chronic Pulmunary Symptoms(2011-08-08) Blucker, Ryan ThomasCaregivers of children with chronic illnesses or disabilities face challenges in their various roles as parents and providers of ongoing medical needs that often impact the daily life of the family. Research has shown that many of these caregivers experience emotional distress and psychological maladjustment due to multiple factors associated with being a caregiver. Little research has looked specifically at a unique group of caregivers of children with severe neurodisabilities who require varying degrees of respiratory care including ventilator support. This present study utilized data collected at the Arkansas Center for Respiratory Technology Dependent Children (ACRTDC) outpatient clinic. The data describes the prevalence of caregiver-reported experiences related to general health and psychological adjustment. It was hypothesized that this specific group of caregivers would report relatively high levels of distress related to disability severity and resulting respiratory care management plan. It was further hypothesized that family coping and constructive versus dysfunctional problem-solving styles would be predictive of general and mental health outcomes. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test these hypotheses. Descriptive statistics revealed that the caregivers reported symptoms that were comparable to those of the general population. Neither demographic variables nor respiratory care management scores were predictive of scores associated with somatic complaints, depressive symptoms, anxious symptoms, general health and mental health. Caregivers differed on criterion variables based on differences in one of the coping subscales that measured social support, self-esteem and psychological stability. This relationship was observed on scores of somatization, depression, general health and mental health, but not with anxiety. Social problem-solving scores accounted for significant variance in scores of caregiver distress above that accounted for by family coping. Only negative problem orientation (NPO) accounted for a significant proportion of variance in scores of caregiver health and well-being. This strong relationship was observed on scores of somatization, depression, anxiety and mental health but not general health. Implications of results and directions for future studies are presented.