WELL-BEING OF FAMILIES WHO CARE FOR TECHNOLOGY-ASSISTED INFANTS.
Contributors: University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Published: 1995
Number of pages: 265
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Sociology, Individual and Family Studies.
Description: Transition to parenthood and the integration of an infant into the family is a time of change and stress. Some families care for infants who need additional technology to monitor for health problems and sustain life. Because an infant's limitations affect the whole family, the measure of family well-being is an important indicator of overall family adaption and health.

The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore the relationship of pile up of demands, coping, selected infant and family variables, to well-being of families with technology-assisted infants in the home. Families with healthy infants served as a comparison group.

The research purpose was fulfilled through exploration of nine research hypotheses, guided by the Double ABCX Model of Family Adjustment and Adaptation (McCubbin & Patterson, 1983). Families meeting inclusion criteria were mailed a demographic form and three standardized questionnaires: Family Inventory of Life Events (FILE), Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scale (F-COPES), and Family Well-Being Assessment (FWB). Data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics.

One hundred seventy-two families participated in the study, 85 in the technology group, and 87 in the health group. The results found that increased pile up of demands (stressors/strains) were significantly related to decreased family well-being. Families with technology-assisted infants experienced more pile up of demands and lowered well-being than families with healthy infants. However, levels of coping for the healthy and technology groups were higher than reported norms.

In the technology group, pile up of demands, coping, number of persons in the household, length of time in the hospital, and length of time at home accounted for 44% of the variance in family well-being. Stepwise multiple regression found that only pile up of demands made a significant unique contribution to well-being. Differences between families based on demographic data were explored.

Recommendations for research included conducting a follow-up study to ascertain changes over time and replicating with a larger sample of families managing more than one piece of equipment. Recommendations for further study using the Double ABCX model were proposed.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-04, Section: B, page: 1939.

Thesis (D.S.N.)--UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM, 1995.

School code: 0005.