FAMILY DYNAMICS IN RESPONSE TO A HANDICAPPED CHILD

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The purpose of this project is to investigate family processes which influence the development of handicaped children. The research to be conducted is conceptualized within the framework of family life-span development. This framework states that families will respond in a characteristic way to non-normative crises such as the identification of handicap in a child. This response will initially be framed by perceptions of the handicapping condition, and by the parents' ability to negotiate productive role assignments in the family. It is predicted that disorganization in family roles following the crisis will gradually decrease, as will family distress. It is further predicted that the rate of decrease in these areas will be predictive of the rate of child development in areas of social and cognitive functioning in the handicapped child. Finally, it is predicted that this entire process will be mediated by the parents' ability to negotiate new family roles. A longitudinal study of 60 families with handicapped (mentally retarded and cerebral palsied) and nonhandicapped children will be carried out, using a segmented panel design with controls. Three waves of data collection, spanning 18 months, will be used. Measures of family role organization, family distress, parent negotiation/conflict resolution styles, perceptions of handicap, and child development will be used. Results will be analyzed to test major hypotheses, using confirmatory factor analytic techniques in a structural modeling approach. Exploratory analyses will then be carried out using multiple regression/correlation procedures.