Paternal versus maternal coping styles with child diagnosis of developmental delay.
Mothers cope with emotion and fathers cope with facts after a DD diagnosis—tailor your parent support to each style.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Barak-Levy et al. (2013) asked moms and dads how they handled news of a child’s developmental delay.
They used a survey. Parents told the team what they felt and thought after the diagnosis.
What they found
Mothers leaned on emotion. They cried, shared feelings, and sought comfort.
Fathers leaned on facts. They read, planned, and looked for next steps.
No sex difference showed up in who “resolved” the news, but style was clearly split.
How this fits with other research
Mammarella et al. (2022) saw the same split in autism families. Moms reported more stress; dads stayed cooler. Their data widen Yael’s picture from DD to ASD.
Reed et al. (2019) add a twist: when diagnosis took longer, moms stayed stuck. Yael also saw late timing hurt resolution. The two papers echo: speed matters for mothers.
Downes et al. (2022) moved from solo coping to the couple. Partner support helped both parents team up after an ASD diagnosis. Yael’s style map gives you the why: moms need feeling space, dads need info—offer both and coparenting lifts.
Why it matters
Match your parent talk to the style in front of you. Offer moms a chance to vent and feel heard. Offer dads clear handouts and next-step plans. When both styles are met, resolution comes faster and teamwork grows.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Parents of children with disabilities vary in their reaction to their children's diagnosis. The current study focused on fathers in addition to mothers and examined their resolution and coping styles when having children diagnosed with developmental delay (DD). Sixty-five fathers and 71 mothers were interviewed using the reaction to the diagnosis interview (RDI; Pianta & Marvin, 1992a). Results indicated that the majority of parents were unresolved with their child's diagnosis, with no differences found between fathers' and mothers' rates of resolution. Furthermore, both parents of children that were diagnosed at a later age and parents that were less educated tended to be unresolved, as did fathers of a lower socioeconomic status. Older age of both children and mothers was related to maternal lack of resolution. Finally, an in-depth examination revealed significant differences in the manner in which fathers and mothers cope with their children's diagnosis: whereas mothers were more prone to using an emotional coping style, fathers tended to use a cognitive coping style. The clinical implications of paternal versus maternal coping styles are discussed.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.02.026