Socio-economic position, household composition, health status and indicators of the well-being of mothers of children with and without intellectual disabilities.
Mom’s stress is fueled by poverty and poor health more than by the child’s diagnosis.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lancioni et al. (2006) asked British mothers about money, health, and mood. They compared moms of kids with intellectual disability to moms of kids without.
The team used a survey. They wanted to know if low well-being came from the disability or from poverty.
What they found
Most of the stress moms felt was linked to low income and poor health, not to the child’s diagnosis.
When money and health problems were counted, the disability alone added little extra strain.
How this fits with other research
Beaumont et al. (2008) ran a similar survey in Sweden and got the same answer: cash problems and health, not ID status, predicted mom’s mood.
Emerson et al. (2007) looked at the kids themselves and found the same pattern: almost one-third of their poor health was tied to poverty, not ID.
Granieri et al. (2020) in Ecuador saw the opposite: moms of preschoolers with ID reported lower stress. The kids were younger and cultural support was higher, so the SES hit was softer.
Why it matters
When you see a mom looking worn out, ask about rent, food, and her own doctor visits before you blame the disability. Link her to welfare checks, health clinics, and parent groups. Easing money and health worries can free her to take part in your sessions and carry plans home.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Many previous studies have reported that mothers of children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) are more likely to show signs of psychological distress and have lower well-being than mothers of 'typically developing' children. Our aim was to estimate the extent to which these differences may be accounted for by between-group differences in socio-economic position. METHODS: This study involved secondary analysis of happiness, self-esteem and self-efficacy variables in a nationally representative sample of 6954 British mothers with dependent children under the age of 17 years, 514 of whom were supporting a child with an ID. RESULTS: Mothers of children with IDs reported lower levels of happiness, self-esteem and self-efficacy than mothers of children without IDs. Statistically controlling for differences in socio-economic position, household composition and maternal characteristics fully accounted for the between-group differences in maternal happiness, and accounted for over 50% of the elevated risk for poorer self-esteem and self-efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: A socially and statistically significant proportion of the increased risk of poorer well-being among mothers of children with IDs may be attributed to their increased risk of socio-economic disadvantage.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2006 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2006.00900.x