In this study, based on awareness of issues to the social service system which excludes adults with autism and their families, analyzed care burdens and difficulties that those families experience.
For this purpose, measurement on the level of care s...
In this study, based on awareness of issues to the social service system which excludes adults with autism and their families, analyzed care burdens and difficulties that those families experience.
For this purpose, measurement on the level of care stress with parents, selected child variables, family variables, social service variables as independent variables identify differences of care stress according to each variable. Finally, influential factors were analyzed among major influences affecting parent's care stress.
This research was conducted through quantitative survey, subjected the parents caring adults with autism. Focused on disability WELFARE facility, day care centers, short-term care centers, group homes, and sheltered workshop which adults with autism mainly use, questionnaires were distributed to 45 agencies on 12 national scale using probability stratified sampling method. 284 cases were used for the final analysis among collected 337 cases. Survey consisted of 70 questions in which the reliability and validity were secured from the existing research. To clarify the influence of independent variables, socio-demographic variables which can affect the dependent variable were set to control variable. For data analysis, descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis for the main purpose of this study were analyzed.
The results were as followed. First, the average stress level was 3.31 and out of measuring range, personal distress showed the highest score of 3.45. In the reality of this society lacking social supports towards caring-environment, problematic situations and process that individual family has to face are to be the most difficulty they encounter.
Second, examining the child variables, family variables, parental care, and social services according to the stress factors, family variables depending on family strengths, social services depending on experiences in using outdoor activity services and family assistance services were shown. In other words, the higher the strength of family assistance services and support services for outdoor activity for caring parent is the lower stress they experienced.
Third, as a result of correlation analysis, parent's caring stress was shown to be high in the following cases: if the parent's age is older; if the parents' health is worse; if children have multiple disabilities; if child's negative disability attributes is worse; and if the disability class of child, daily life capacity of child, family strength, the experiences in using outdoor activity services and family assistance services are at low frequency.
Fourth, as a result of the hierarchical regression analysis, daily life capacity of child, negative disability attributes of child, health condition of mother, and family strength are revealed as the influential factors to parent's care stress. It is interpreted that the lower child's daily life capacity and the severer negative characteristics disorder are; the higher the level of the child's disability is; the worse mother's health is; and the lower the strength of family care is, the level of care stress gets increased.
The results showed that in order to reduce the burdens and stress experienced by parents, figuring out the needs for adequate caring environment and user-oriented social support based on the family characteristics is needed. In addition, as the family strength influences positively at parents themselves as well as caring environment, family support services which can empower family need to be developed and activated.