Developmental Disability

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Parents caring for a child with an Intellectual or Developmental Disability (I/DD) are under significantly more stress than parents of typically developing children. Valid measures exist to assess levels of parental stress and contributing factors (Abidin, 1995; Brannan, Heflinger, & Bickman, 1997; Cohen, Kamarck & Mermelstein, 1983). However, few measures exist that examine the construct of parents in crisis. This is of note because those with I/DD and their families are at increased risk to experience crises related to physical and mental health factors. Validating a measure of crisis is necessary to accurately assess a parent’s experience in order to enhance communication with clinicians as well as further research in this area. This is …show more content…
They have significantly higher reported rates of depression and anxiety as well as increased risk of developing behavioral and emotional problems (Gurney, Mcpheeters & Davis, 2006; Lach et al., 2009). Common examples of externalizing problem behavior include aggression, tantrums, non-compliance and hyperactivity (Keller & Fox, 2009). Numerous studies have shown children with developmental disabilities or delays are three to four times more likely to display clinically significant levels of problem behavior than children without delays (Baker, Blacher, Crnic & Edelbrock, 2002; Emerson, 2003; Tonge & Einfeld, 2000;).
This increased risk of health problems, psychopathology and problem behaviors in children and adolescents with I/DD, results in increasing parenting demands compared to a typically developing child. Lecavalier, Leone and Wiltz (2006) found a transactional relationship exists between problem behaviors and parental stress. Parent report of stress levels and child behavior problems were found to exacerbate one another over time. Given these increased parenting demands combined with the significant number of children diagnosed with I/DD, it is important to examine the experience of their parents and