Self-report measures of family functioning: A comparison of families of young
children with severe cerebral palsy, mild cerebral palsy, or no
medical diagnosis
Britner, P. A.,
Morog, M. C., Pianta, R. C., & Marvin, R. S.
(submitted for publication, 1995)
Abstract
Analyzed
data from 87 mothers of children ages 15 to 44 months with cerebral
palsy (CP) or no diagnosis, who completed the Dyadic Adjustment
Scale, Parenting Stress Index, Support Functions Scale, and Inventory
of Social Support. Principal components analysis of the 15 subscales
revealed few cross-measure loadings. Mothers of children with
severe CP reported more support needs than did mothers of controls.
Mothers of children with CP (severe or mild) reported higher levels
of parenting stress than did mothers of controls. Cluster analysis
of self-report measures yielded a 5-cluster solution, with no
diagnostic group differences across clusters. Presence and absence
of group differences across methods of analysis are discussed
in terms of the organization of family systems and their relationship
to child diagnosis. Short Introduction Literature on the relation
between child disabilities and family process suggests that self-report
measures of family function and social ecology (parenting stress,
marital quality, social support) may be related to the nature
and severity of the child's condition. Whereas much of the early
research suggested that childhood disabilities are associated
with negative family outcomes, more recent research suggests that
this conclusion is false, or at least oversimplified. This paper
examines whether various self-report measures, designed to assess
different dimensions of family functioning, in fact tap common
underlying constructs, and describes differences in response patterns
across diagnostic groups in a sample of families who have young
children with severe cerebral palsy (CP), mild CP, or no medical
diagnosis (controls).
Return to main CPAP page
Page created by Kathleen C. Borowitz, October, 1995