Parenting a Child with a Disability: The Role of Social Support for African American Parents

Abstract

This paper examines: (1) the impact of having a child with a disability on parents’ mental and physical health among urban-dwelling African Americans and (2) the extent to which positive and negative social interactions with family other than the spouse moderate the impact of child’s disability on parental adaptation. Analyses are based on a probability sample of African Americans living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The analytic sample includes 48 parents of a child with a disability and 144 comparison group parents of non-disabled children. Results showed that having a child with a disability is associated with more somatic symptoms. However, the negative consequences of the child’s disability on parents’ mental health are reduced when parents receive greater positive support from family.

The association between stress and physical health in parents caring for children with intellectual disabilities is moderated by children’s challenging behaviours

“…In relating our results to the existing literature, they are somewhat consistent with other studies in parents caring for children with mixed disabilities (Brehaut et al, 2004;Lach, et al, 2009;Raina, et al, 2005); the health problems in these studies were more debilitating and chronic (e.g., asthma, arthritis). However, a greater numbers of headaches, sleep complaints and backaches were found in a sample parents caring for children with disabilities compared to a control sample who children were not disabled (Ha, Greenberg & Seltzer, 2011); albeit, the type of disability was not disclosed in this study. There is also congruency with previous studies reporting higher sleep problems in parents with children with intellectual disabilities (Gallagher, Phillips, & Carroll, 2010;Hedov, Anneren, & Wikblad, 2002) as well as poorer self-rated health (Allik, et al, 2006); thus our findings tend to resonate with the wider literature on family caregiving.…”

“…Although, the disability types were not disclosed one study found that compared to parents of children without disabilities, parents of children with disabilities were found to report poorer physical health and more psychosomatic symptoms (e.g. headaches and gastrointestinal problems) (Ha, Greenberg, Seltzer, 2011). Together, these studies suggest that the physical health in parental caregivers is cause for concern and that such research in parents caring for children with intellectual disabilities is clearly warranted.…”

Perceived Stress and Coping Styles among Malay Caregivers of Children with Learning Disabilities in Kelantan

“…As expected, caregivers using emotional support and religion more frequently demonstrated a lower level of stress. Ha et al (25) suggested the detrimental impact on mental health of parents is reduced when parents had more positive support from family members. Other studies also reported that more emotional support was related with better cognitive and social functioning (26) and health-related quality of life of the parents (14).…”

A Profile of Children With Cerebral Palsy: Identifying Unmet Needs in Health and Social Care

“…The role of social support is identified as an important factor in preventing negative consequences of caregiving (Ha et al, 2011). Apart from the minority (12.8%) who received some financial assistance from the Department of Social Services and a few non-governmental organizations, the families of children with cerebral palsy in this sample have not received any other form of external social support ( Table 3).…”