Relationships Between Family Sense of Coherence, Coping and Role Performance in Parents of Children with Disabilities: Structural Equation Modeling.
Family sense of coherence is a teachable gateway to stronger coping and role performance in parents of children with disabilities.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Uzdil et al. (2026) asked parents of children with mixed disabilities to fill out three surveys. The surveys measured family sense of coherence, coping style, and how well they carried out parenting roles.
The team used the answers to build a path model. They wanted to see if a coherent family outlook predicts better coping and role performance.
What they found
Parents who scored high on family sense of coherence also scored high on coping and role performance. The model showed these links are strong and direct.
The authors call these factors malleable targets. Strengthening them could help parents manage disability-related demands.
How this fits with other research
Ewing et al. (2002) found parents of kids with ID/autism have lower sense of coherence and more depression. Nurcan’s work extends this by showing coherence is not just a risk marker but a lever for better coping.
Wang et al. (2025) tracked ASD parents for six months. Social support and resilience grew together through active coping. Nurcan’s cross-sectional results align: coherent coping is changeable and powerful.
Brillet et al. (2023) showed Mom’s emotion-focused coping lifts Dad’s quality of life too. Nurcan’s model stays at the individual parent level, but both studies agree that coping skills ripple outward.
Why it matters
You can screen family sense of coherence in intake. A low score signals the parent may struggle with role demands. Brief ACT-based modules from Gur et al. (2023) or active-coping drills from Wang et al. (2025) can raise coherence and coping fast. Target both parents when possible, because dyadic effects matter.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This descriptive study was designed with a clear focus: to use structural equation modeling to determine the intricate relationships between family sense of coherence, coping, and role performance in parents of children with disabilities. The study was conducted with a sample of 185 parents of children receiving special education at the primary school level in a province in Türkiye. Data was collected using a parent introduction form, the Family Sense of Coherence Scale-short form (FSOC-S), the Family Role Performance (FRP) scale, and the Revised-COPE Scale (R-COPE). The effect of FSOC-S on FRP and R-COPE was statistically significant. The effect of FRP on R-COPE was statistically significant. Moreover, FSOC-S predicted 22.4% of FRP, while FSOC-S and FRP predicted 17.1% of R-COPE. The study's findings underscore the urgent need for interventions to improve the family's sense of coherence and positive coping attitudes. These interventions are crucial for parents to effectively manage the challenges they face while caring for a child with a disability. The study also highlights the significant role of positive coping attitudes and family sense of coherence in enhancing role performance in parents of children with disabilities.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2026 · doi:10.1016/S0092-6566(02)00563-9