Parental Distress in Mothers of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

Parental Distress in Mothers of Children with Developmental Disabilities The current study examined the changes in child behavior, parenting stress and quality of life as reported by mothers of children with intellectual/developmental disabilities. A longitudinal sample of mothers participating in an in-home behavior management program, were interviewed at two time points approximately 12 weeks apart. It was hypothesized that: 1) Scores on the CBCL would be elevated in comparison to the normative sample. 2) Scores on the PSI-SF would be elevated in comparison to the normative sample. 3) Standardized T-Scores on the CBCL would decrease from Baseline to Follow-up. 4) The scores on the Quality of Life Inventory would increase over the course of the intervention. 5) Scores on the Parenting Stress Index- Short Form would decrease from Baseline to Follow-up. Due to the small sample size (n = 16), the data did not meet assumptions for the use of parametric statistics. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to evaluate changes in the measures from baseline to follow-up. The Parent Distress subscale of the Parenting Stress Index-SF was found to decrease significantly (p = .016). This result was then confirmed utilizing a bootstrapped (n = 5000) Wilcoxon signed rank test, and a related samples t-test.