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Adaptation of families with mentally retarded children: a model of stress, coping, and family ecology.
397
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References
1983
Year
Family InvolvementCritical ReviewMental HealthDevelopmental DisabilitiesChild Mental HealthSocial SciencesPsychologyFamily SystemsFamily InteractionFamily LifeFamily ProcessesFamily RelationshipsRetarded ChildrenChild Well-beingDevelopmental DisabilityPsychiatryChild DevelopmentFamily AdaptationFamily EcologyFamily PsychologyMedicineFamily DynamicPsychopathology
Research on families of mentally retarded children has yielded inconsistent findings due to methodological shortcomings and a narrow focus on unidimensional variables, and no succinct model has yet explained family adaptation. The paper reviews family dynamics in families with mentally retarded children and proposes a comprehensive conceptual model. The model accounts for the range of familial adaptations, the impact of perceived stress, and the mediating role of coping resources and ecological environments.
Research concerned with families of mentally retarded children has often yielded inconsistent, and at times, contradictory findings. This inconsistency is partly due to methodological inadequacies and a narrow focus on unidimensional variables with unimodal measurements. In addition, no succinct model has been presented to explain family adaptation and the range of possible outcomes. In this paper a critical review focused on parents, siblings, parent-child interactions, and family systems was presented. A comprehensive conceptual model was proposed that accounts for (a) the range of possible familial adaptations, both positive and negative, involving the impact of perceived stress associated with the presence of a retarded child; and (b) the family's coping resources and ecological environments as interactive systems that serve to mediate the family's response to stress.