Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T09:21:58.586Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Coping Strategies in Mothers of School-Aged Children with Intellectual Disabilities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2016

Iva Strnadová
Affiliation:
Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic
David Evans*
Affiliation:
University of Sydney, Australia
*
*Corresponding author. Faculty of Education and Social Work A35, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Email: [email protected]

Abstract

The role of the family in providing a quality education program is important for all students. For students with special educational needs, however, the role of the family is particularly critical. In such families, there can be an increased amount of stress and, at the same time, a range of coping strategies evolving. Research into the ways that families cope with stress uses various life quality indicators (e.g., emotional, physical and material well-being, interpersonal relations, personal development, self-determination or social inclusion) to evaluate the effectiveness of these coping mechanisms. The role of the family (with specific focus on its links with schools) is often overlooked, yet is crucial to attaining long-term benefits for the student.

Type
Conference Paper
Copyright
Copyright © The Australian Association of Special Education 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abidin, R. (1995). Parenting Stress Index (3rd ed.). Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.Google Scholar
Akkok, F., Askar, P., & Karanci, N. (1996). The relationship between stress and the causal attributions of mothers and fathers of children with mental disabilities and autism. Paper presented at the Annual World Congress of International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities, Helsinki, Finland.Google Scholar
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2003). Research methods in education. Milton Park: Routledge.Google Scholar
Folkman, S., Schaefer, C., & Lazarus, R. (1979). Cognitive processes as mediators of stress and coping. In Hamilton, V., & Warburton, D. (Eds.), Human stress and cognition: An information-processing approach (pp. 265–298). London: Wiley.Google Scholar
Gialo, R., & Gavidia-Payne, S. (2006). Child, parent and family factors as predictors of adjustment for siblings of children with a disability. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 50(12), 937–948.Google Scholar
Gray, D. (2006). Coping over time: The parents of children with autism. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities Research, 50, 970–976.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hassall, R., Rose, J., & McDonald, J. (2005). Parenting stress in mothers of children with an intellectual disability: The effects of parental cognitions in relation to child characteristics and family support. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 49(6), 405–418.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kelso, T., French, D., & Fernandez, M. (2005). Stress and coping in primary caregivers of children with a disability: A qualitative study using the Lazarus and Folkman process model of coping. Journal of Research in Special Education Needs, 5, 3–10.Google Scholar
Kersh, T., Hedvat, T., Hauser-Cram, P., & Warfield, M. (2006). The contribution of marital quality to the well-being of parents of children with developmental disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 50, 883–893.Google Scholar
Lazarus, R. (1999). Stress and emotion: A new synthesis. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Lazarus, R., & Folkman, S. (1984). ‘Coping and adaptations.’ In Gentry, W. (Ed.), Handbook of Behavioural Medicine (pp. 282–325). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
MacDonald, E., Fitzsimons, E., & Walsh, P. N. (2006). Use of respite care and coping strategies among Irish families of children with intellectual disabilities. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35, 62–68.Google Scholar
Plant, K., & Sanders, M. (2007). Predictors of care-giver stress in families of pre-school aged children with developmental disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities Research, 51, 109–124.Google Scholar
Shin, J., Nham, N., Crittenden, K., Hong, H., Flory, M., & Ladinnsky, J. (2006). Parenting stress of mothers and fathers of young children with cognitive delays in Vietnam. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 50(10), 748–760.Google Scholar
Trute, B., & Hiebert-Murphy, D. (2005). Predicting family adjustment and parenting stress in childhood disability services using brief assessment tools. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 10(4), 217–225.Google Scholar