Handicap-related problems in mothers of children with physical impairments.
The HPPI is a free, sturdy parent-stress ruler that later brief scales trimmed and refined.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Christian et al. (1997) built a new survey called the HPPI. It asks moms about stress tied to raising kids with physical disabilities.
The team checked if the survey gave steady answers week to week and if scores lined up with other stress and disability measures.
What they found
The HPPI showed strong, steady numbers. High scores on the survey matched higher parent stress and tougher child needs.
Scores also foretold how moms would cope 18 months later, so the tool works as an early warning sign.
How this fits with other research
Later papers trimmed older surveys. Saad (2025) cut the Parental Stress Scale to 15 items and tested it in over 3,000 I/DD caregivers. The short form still held up, building on the HPPI idea of quick, solid stress checks.
Green et al. (2020) did the same with a 21-item French PSI-SF for ASD parents. Both follow-up studies kept reliability while saving time, showing the field wants briefer tools.
Berkovits et al. (2014) took a different path. Instead of stress, they asked how hard daily care feels for CP parents. Their Ease of Caregiving scale, like the HPPI, proved reliable and linked to child motor level, proving disability-tuned surveys can target many angles.
Why it matters
You now have a free, proven tool to spot caregiver strain early. Give the HPPI at intake, set a cutoff, and flag families who need added support before stress grows. Pair it with newer short forms when time is tight.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
An inventory was developed for the measurement of handicap-related problems experienced by mothers of children with chronic physical conditions and an initial evaluation of its psychometric properties was completed in a sample of 119 mothers of children with physical or sensory impairments. Principal component analysis of the Handicap-related Problems for Parents Inventory (HPPI) yielded three subscales, which accounted for 54% of the total variance. The HPPI demonstrated excellent internal consistency for each scale and total score. It also generally had good test-retest reliability over 6-, 12-, and 18-month periods. There was minimal covariation between HPPI scores and demographic status. Concurrent validity was demonstrated by significant correlations between appropriate HPPI scales and measures of daily stress and the child's physical condition or disability status. Support for its construct validity was obtained when expected convergent and discriminant relationships were confirmed between HPPI scales and measures of maternal adaptation, maternal social support, and child behavior problems. Among other results, HPPI scores predicted maternal adaptation 18 months later. The potential uses of the HPPI in research and intervention with mothers of children with chronic physical conditions were discussed.
Research in developmental disabilities, 1997 · doi:10.1016/s0891-4222(96)00035-2