ERIC Number: EJ1024378
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Feb
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1934-9556
EISSN: N/A
Relating Stress of Mothers of Children with Developmental Disabilities to Family-School Partnerships
Burke, Meghan M.; Hodapp, Robert M.
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, v52 n1 p13-23 Feb 2014
Although mothers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience high levels of stress and schools constitute an important resource, the relation remains unknown between maternal stress and educational services. Responding to a national, web-based survey, 965 mothers of students with disabilities completed a 163-item questionnaire about parent stress. We examined which child, parent, and parent-school characteristics correlated with maternal stress. Mothers with lower stress levels reported better parent-school relationships and low levels of parent advocacy. However, lower stress levels were predominantly shown by mothers with good-to-excellent parent-school relationships (vs. poor-to-fair partnerships) and who engaged in virtually no (vs. any) advocacy activities. Lower maternal stress levels were also noted when children had fewer behavior problems, Down syndrome, and did not have autism. Less stress was also reported by mothers who had not enacted procedural safeguards, were minorities, and rated themselves lower on neuroticism and were more extroverted, dependable, and open to new experiences. This study has important implications for practitioners and researchers.
Descriptors: Mothers, Stress Variables, Developmental Disabilities, Children, Family School Relationship, National Surveys, Questionnaires, Individual Characteristics, Advocacy, Behavior Problems, Down Syndrome, Autism, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Minority Groups, Psychological Patterns
American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. P.O. Box 7065, Lawrence, KS 66044-7065. Tel: 785-843-1235; Fax: 785-843-1274; e-mail: AJMR@allenpress.com; Web site: http://aaiddjournals.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Practitioners; Researchers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A