MENTAL RETARDATION: A PARENTAL PERSPECTIVE.
Contributors: University Of Illinois At Chicago, Health Sciences Center.
Published: 1987
Number of pages: 167
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Education, Guidance and Counseling.; Education, Special.
Description: The study examined parental perceptions of the management of a child with mental retardation and specifically addressed definitions, explanations, feelings and concerns related to this responsibility. Information was also gathered on stress, coping, and resources.

A descriptive, exploratory design utilizing quantitative and qualitative measures was used. The convenience sample was solicited from two school settings. Forty-nine parents of 30 moderately retarded children participated. The majority of parents were college educated with middle-class occupations and incomes.

Three instruments: Coping Health Inventory for Parents; Family Inventory of Resources for Management; and Family Inventory of Life Events and Changes (McCubbin et al.) were used to collect quantitative data. Qualitative data were gathered by means of semi-structured interviews focused on areas of interest in the study question.

Data analysis involved comparing means and standard deviations of this sample on the inventories with comparison samples of McCubbin and Patterson (1981). Interview data were content analyzed.

Analysis of qualitative data evidenced that normalization, entailing a variety of strategies, was the major management style of parents. This parenting approach emphasizes normative characteristics of the retarded child and parental definition of the family as essentially normal. Differences between parents of early identified children and later identified children were found in parental accounts of their experiences. The nature of the child's handicap greatly influenced parental roles vis-a-vis professionals in the process of gaining recognition or confirmation of the child's problem.

Quantitative measures revealed differences between the study and comparison samples on subscales related to marital strains, family esteem-communication, and financial well-being. Parents in the study group reported greater financial security and family communication, as well as less marital strains.

The findings suggest the need for improved knowledge of mental retardation on the part of health care professionals, as well as familiarity with appropriate resources for families, especially those with young children. Sensitivity to parental management styles is important in understanding family accommodation to a child who is mentally retarded. The importance of the parents' view and perception of their retarded child and that child's place in their lives and the life of the family is crucial for effective work with families of individuals with mental retardation.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-06, Section: B, page: 2126.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO, HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER, 1987.

School code: 0806.