ADOLESCENTS WITH HANDICAPS--LIFESPAN & CULTURAL CONCERNS

拟议的研究侧重于两个主要样本。 第一和 主要关注的是进入家庭的纵向样本， 1982- 1993年研究。 当时，这些家庭有一个孩子患有严重的 3至8岁的残疾人。 我们研究了一个 严重残疾的儿童在家庭中生活了四分之三的十年。 大约一 四分之一的原始样本已经把他们的孩子放在了外面。 的 剩余的家庭现在面临着一个潜在的双重危机-- 青春期和家庭生活周期的转变。 而 在68个仍有严重儿童的家庭中， 家里的残疾人已经表明了要留住孩子的决心 在家直到现在他们面临着两个新的挑战， 这将极大地影响他们的计划， 安置 一个是孩子的大小，以及随之而来的身体护理 另一个是越来越多的人认识到， 非残疾同龄人将很快搬出他们的家（要么 大学生活或自己生活）。 此时的位置（即，之间 13岁和18岁）可能因此被视为更规范， 因此，对于其中一些家庭来说，更有可能。 未来五年的第二个重点将是扩大我们的研究 从主要是白色的中产阶级人口到 到2000年将主宰洛杉矶--西班牙裔家庭。 在 在南加州，我们处于一个独特的位置来研究 西班牙裔家庭的残疾儿童。 此外，我们能够 评估这种影响在父母是双语家庭以及 父母只讲西班牙语的家庭。 第三个重点，虽然更小的努力，将包括一个 与研究人员合作检查一些相同的结构 代表着生命的另一个阶段--衰老 成年智障子女的照顾者。 我们的目标是 样品，并在适当的情况下合并样品，在以下： 社会支持网络的内容; 社会支持网络与应对其他方面的关系; 影响家庭外安置的因素 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.