The purpose of this study was to examine the stresses, depression, and family strength according to the types of disabilities of their children and to analyze the correlations between those factors. The subjects of this study were 590 parents whose ki...
The purpose of this study was to examine the stresses, depression, and family strength according to the types of disabilities of their children and to analyze the correlations between those factors. The subjects of this study were 590 parents whose kids had disabilities and were in special school. The results of this study were as follows: First, there showed some differences in particular stress areas according to the types of disabilities.
In the areas of 'Future of my kid' and 'Nurture in daily life', parents having children with emotional disabilities showed higher stress levels than those having children with mental retardation or confounded disabilities. Fathers of children with emotional disabilities showed higher stress levels than any other group of fathers and mothers of those showed higher stress levels in the areas of 'Future of my kid', 'Nurture in daily life', and 'Relationship among family members' than the mothers of other groups.
Second, in the depression levels, there were significant differences between fathers' and mothers' in such cases of their kids having mental retardation or confounded disabilities, with mothers showing higher levels than fathers. There were no significant differences between mothers and fathers of kids with emotional disabilities.
Third, in the family strength levels, there were no differences between fathers' and mothers' according to the types of disabilities and no differences among the types of disabilities either.
Fourth, in the case of parents having kids with mental retardation or confounded disabilities, all areas of stresses showed positive correlations with depression and family strength factors.
In the future, there needs more concrete and minuter analyzes in the research areas of family according to the types of disabilities of their children.