Mothers of children with developmental disabilities: stress in early and middle childhood.
Mom stress stays flat in early childhood then declines unevenly—target kids’ behavioral problems to ease that stress drop in middle childhood.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Azad et al. (2013) tracked moms of kids with developmental delays. They asked how stress rose or fell from early childhood into the middle years.
The team looked at child behavior problems and mom stress at two points. They wanted to see who stayed stressed and who got relief.
What they found
Stress stayed high and flat while the kids were little. After that, it dropped, but not for every mom.
Kids with more behavior problems kept their moms stressed longer. When those problems eased, mom stress eased too.
How this fits with other research
Koegel et al. (2014) saw no drop in stress for moms of kids with autism. Gazi’s mixed-DD group did decline, so autism may keep stress stuck longer.
Lancioni et al. (2006) found stress climbs steadily for moms of kids with Down syndrome. Gazi shows stress can fall for other delays, giving a fuller picture.
Scibelli et al. (2021) link teen behavior problems to high mom stress. Gazi saw the same link years earlier, showing the pattern starts young and lasts.
Why it matters
You can’t assume mom stress will fade as the child grows. Watch behavior problems closely in middle childhood. When you cut those behaviors, you give moms their first real drop in stress.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Using a sample of 219 families of children with (n=94) and without (n=125) developmental disabilities, this study examined the longitudinal perspectives of maternal stress in early (ages 3-5) and middle childhood (ages 6-13) and its relationship to mothers' and children's characteristics. Multivariate latent curve models indicated that maternal stress remained high and stable with minimal individual variation in early childhood, but declined with significant individual variation in middle childhood. Maternal stress at the beginning of middle childhood was associated with earlier maternal stress, as well as children's behavioral problems and social skills. The trajectory of maternal stress across middle childhood was related to children's behavioral problems. Implications for interventions are discussed.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.07.009