The contribution of marital quality to the well-being of parents of children with developmental disabilities.
A happier marriage can cut parenting stress and depression for both moms and dads of children with developmental disabilities.
01Research in Context
What this study did
van Schrojenstein Lantman-de Valk et al. (2006) asked moms and dads of kids with developmental delays about their marriage. They used surveys to measure how happy each couple felt. Then they looked at how that happiness linked to stress, mood, and confidence in parenting.
What they found
Parents who rated their marriage as warm and low-conflict felt less stress and fewer depressive symptoms. Moms in these good marriages also said they felt more able to handle daily parenting tasks. The link stayed strong even after the team counted child behavior and family income.
How this fits with other research
Petrovic et al. (2016) later showed the same pattern in families of teens: when one parent is stressed, the whole family feels it, but high marital satisfaction softens the blow. Benson (2016) tracked moms of children with ASD for seven years and found that strong social networks raised parenting confidence and cut depression, matching the self-efficacy path seen here. Freeman et al. (2015) pooled many studies and confirmed that parents of kids with DD report worse physical health, so adding marital-quality work to your plan may ease both mind and body.
Why it matters
You already teach behavior skills; now screen marital quality too. A five-question check-in at intake can flag couples at risk for high stress. Offer brief praise or video examples of parents teaming up during sessions. Small moments of shared praise between partners may lower their stress and boost follow-through on your programs.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: This study examines the contribution of the marital relationship to the well-being of both mothers and fathers of children with developmental disabilities. Parent well-being is conceptualized in terms of mental health, parenting stress and parenting efficacy. METHODS: These analyses are based on data from 67 families participating in the Early Intervention Collaborative Study, an ongoing longitudinal investigation of the development of children with disabilities and the adaptation of their families. Multidimensional assessment techniques were used to collect data from married mothers and fathers and their child with a disability. Mother and father data were analysed separately using parallel hierarchical regression models. RESULTS: For both mothers and fathers, greater marital quality predicted lower parenting stress and fewer depressive symptoms above and beyond socio-economic status, child characteristics and social support. In relation to parenting efficacy, marital quality added significant unique variance for mothers but not for fathers. For fathers, greater social support predicted increased parenting efficacy. Child behaviour was also a powerful predictor of parental well-being for both mothers and fathers. CONCLUSION: The findings support the importance of the marital relationship to parental well-being and illustrate the value of including fathers in studies of children with developmental disabilities.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2006 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2006.00906.x