ADOLESCENTS WITH HANDICAPS--LIFESPAN & CULTURAL CONCERNS

拟议的研究集中在两个主要样本上。第一个和 主要关注的是进入 在1982-93年间学习。当时，这些家庭有一个患有严重疾病的孩子 3岁到8岁之间的障碍。我们研究了 对家庭有四分之三年严重残疾的儿童。关于一个 四分之一的原始样本已经把他们的孩子送出了家。这个 剩下的家庭现在面临着潜在的双重危机-- 青春期和家庭生命周期的转变。而当 在68个仍然患有严重疾病的家庭中，大多数 家里的残障人士证明了他们要留住孩子的决心 一直呆在家里直到现在。他们在照料方面面临两个新的挑战 在未来五年，这将极大地影响他们的计划 放置。一个是孩子的大小，以及随之而来的身体护理 对父母的要求；另一个是越来越多地认识到孩子的 非残障同龄人很快就会搬出他们的家(要么是为了 上大学或独自生活)。此时放置(即，在 13岁和18岁)因此可能被视为更规范，并且 因此，对其中一些家庭来说，更有可能发生这种情况。 未来五年的第二个重点将是扩大我们的研究 除了主要是白人的中产阶级人口外，还有 将在2000年主宰洛杉矶--拉美裔家庭。在……里面 南加州我们正处于一个独特的位置来研究 西班牙裔家庭中的残疾儿童。此外，我们能够 评估父母会说两种语言的家庭的影响 父母只会说西班牙语的家庭。 第三个重点，虽然较小的努力，将包括一个 与研究人员合作检查一些相同的结构 代表人生另一个阶段的家庭--老龄化 成年弱智子女的照顾者。我们的目标是看向对岸 样品，并酌情在合并样品中，在以下位置： 家庭环境维度；社会支持网络内容； 社会支持网络与应对的其他方面的关系；以及 影响老年人不同时期户外安置的因素 寿命。

The proposed study focuses on two main samples. The first and primary focus is on the longitudinal sample of families who entered the study in 1982-93. At that time, these families had a child with severe handicaps between the ages of 3 and 8. We have studied the impact of a child with severe handicaps on the family for 3/4 of a decade. About a quarter of the original sample has placed their child out-of-home. The remaining families now face a potential two-fold crisis--the onset of adolescence and a shift in the life-cycle of the family. While the majority of the 68 families who still have the child with severe handicaps at home have demonstrated the determination to keep their child at home up until now. they face two new challenges to their caregiving over the next five years that will greatly influence their plans for placement. One is the size of the child, and the ensuing physical care demands on parents; the other is increasing recognition that the child's nonhandicapped peers will soon be moving out of their homes (either to college or to live on their own). Placement at this time (i.e., between the ages of 13 and 18) may thus be seen as more normative, and consequently more likely for some of these families. A second focus over the next five years will be to expand our study beyond a primarily white, middle-class population to the population that will dominate Los Angeles by the year 2000--Hispanic families. In Southern California we are in a unique position to study the impact of a handicapped child on the Hispanic family. Furthermore, we are able to assess such impact in families where parents are bilingual as well as in families where parents are monolingual Spanish-speaking. A third focus, though more minor effort, will be comprised of a collaboration with investigators examining some identical constructs in-families representing yet another stage of the lifespan--aging caregivers of adult mentally retarded offspring. We aim to look across samples, and within combined samples as appropriate, at the following: dimensions of family environments; content of social support networks; relationship of social support networks to other aspects of coping; and factors influencing out-of-home placement at different points of the lifespan.