Health and well-being in midlife parents of children with special health needs.

Abstract

Introduction The objectives of this study were to delineate variation in mental and physical health outcomes over a 10-year period among parents with a child with special health needs as compared to parents of a typically developing child; and evaluate the possible protective effects of parental perceived control and social support. Method The sample consisted of 646 parents from the longitudinal Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) study. Nearly one-quarter of the sample (n=128; 22.3%) reported having a child with a special health care need. Results Cross-sectional analyses indicated that parents of a child with special care needs reported poorer self-rated mental health, greater depressive symptoms, and more restrictions in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Parents of a child with special health care needs had greater increases in depressive symptoms over time and greater declines in instrumental activities of daily living than parents of typically developing children. Perceived control was a robust predictor of all health outcomes over time. Discussion The added stressors of parenting a child with special health needs may undermine the long-term health of parents. Behavioral interventions and clinical practices that facilitate parental perceived control may enable resilience and better health.

The psychophysiological impact of childhood autism spectrum disorder on siblings

“…Indeed, the challenges of caring for a child with a DD, which include financial hardship (Kogan et al, 2008), social isolation (Yantzi, Rosenberg, & McKeever, 2006), negotiating a fragmented service system (Griffith & Hastings, 2013), stigma and social judgement (Cantwell, Muldoon, & Gallagher, in press), far outstrip those of parenting a neuro-typical child. That caregivers of children with a DD experience increased psychological distress has been widely evidenced, with studies reporting on higher levels of psychological symptoms such as perceived stress (Cantwell, Muldoon, & Gallagher, 2014), hopelessness (Bandeira et al, 2010), anxiety (Ruiz-Robledillo & MoyaAlbiol, 2013) and depression (Cantwell et al, in press;Smith & Grzywacz, 2014). In addition, compared with parents of neuro-typical children, caregivers' levels of anxiety and depression were found to be more likely to satisfy criterion for clinical mood disorder (Gallagher, Phillips, Oliver, & Carroll, 2008).…”

Home Tele-monitoring: Economic and Clinical Impact of the Service for Patients with Chronic Respiratory Disease

“…The encephalopathies or neuromuscular disorder, as well as cystic fibrosis, are disease that lead to a significant deterioration of quality of life both in patients (Pé ntek et al 2014; Fidika et al 2015, Smith Grzvwacz 2014. How parents cope with the burden of caring for a chronically ill child depends on various factors: contextual psychological, cultural, emotional, social.…”

The influence of perceived job flexibility and spousal support on the marital satisfaction of parents of children with special needs

“…Past research has focused on the interaction between the couple as it relates to their child's behavior (Kersh et al, 2006). While this is valuable to study, as children with behavioral issues do influence the rest of the family's functioning (Smith & Grzywacz, 2014;Starr, 1981), there are other aspects that should be examined as well. With prevalence rates indicating that about 13% of children ages three to 17 years have a special needs diagnosis (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2016), there is a significant population of families who may benefit from research into marital satisfaction as it pertains to the parents of children with special needs.…”