Stress, locus of control, and family cohesion and adaptability in parents of children with Down, Williams, Fragile X, and Prader-Willi syndromes.
Prader-Willi parents feel the most stress, Down parents the least, and you can lower any parent’s stress by shifting locus of control.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team mailed surveys to 219 moms and dads. Each parent had a child with Down, Williams, Fragile X, or Prader-Willi syndrome.
The survey asked three things: how much stress they felt, who runs their life (locus of control), and how well the family works together.
What they found
Prader-Willi parents scored highest on stress. Down syndrome parents scored lowest.
Across every group, two numbers moved together: more behavior problems and an outside locus of control meant higher stress.
How this fits with other research
Busch et al. (2010) also saw Down parents report less stress than autism parents, so the low-stress rank for Down is holding up.
Bigby et al. (2009) tracked Down parents over time and found that thinking style—positive reappraisal—cuts stress. Silvia adds locus of control as another lever you can shift.
Yorke et al. (2018) pooled 40 autism studies and showed extra behavior problems reliably hike parent stress. Silvia’s four-syndrome data line up with that pattern, extending it beyond autism.
Why it matters
You can guess parent stress level from the child’s diagnosis and the parent’s mindset. Prader-Willi families need the first slot in support groups. For any syndrome, a brief locus-of-control scale points to parents who will benefit most from coping-skills training. Add that scale to your intake packet and you’ll know where to start.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The present study analyzes differences in parental stress in families of children with Down, Williams, Fragile X, and Prader-Willi syndromes, exploring factors that influence parental stress, such as child's characteristics, parental locus of control, and family cohesion and adaptability. Differences between mothers and fathers are also investigated. Parents were given self-report questionnaires to assess family stress, parental locus of control, and family cohesion and adaptability. Results showed that stress levels were lower in families of children with Down syndrome and higher in those of children with Prader-Willi syndrome. Children's characteristics and their parents' locus of control were found to be related to family stress levels in all four syndromes, but several aspects specific to a given syndrome also came to light, as well as some shared and some gender-specific features relating to mothers and fathers.
American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2012 · doi:10.1352/1944-7558-117.3.207