Abstract
Mothers and fathers of learning-disabled (LD) children rated their children's problems on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the stress they experienced as a result of each problem. Data were examined as a function of (a) the child's sex, age, birth order, IQ, discrepancy IQ, and degree of LD, (b) the parents' age, locus of control, and self-concept, and (c) family SES, family size, and mother's working status. Both parents rated externalizing behaviors higher than internalizing. Boys were rated as significantly more problematic and stressful than girls. Greater child adjustment problems and concomitant parental stress were reported by the younger half of the maternal sample and their spouses, and by fathers with a lower self-concept and their wives. Although mothers did not differ from fathers in behavior ratings, they reported greater stress in response to them. This was particularly true of mothers of middle or upper SES with an external locus of control.
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This research was funded in part by the Ontario Mental Health Foundation Grant number 822–900. The authors are indebted to Leo Lazar, director of the Learning Disabilities Clinic of the Child and Family Studies Centre, and to Cirell Broudy, for their contribution to various aspects of this research.
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Konstantareas, M.M., Homatidis, S. Parental perception of learning-disabled children's adjustment problems and related stress. J Abnorm Child Psychol 17, 177–186 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00913792
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00913792