Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Parents Of Children With Severe Disabilities: Parental Stress, Depression, And The Marital Relationship, Melinda W. Christensen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This paper provides an overview of parental stress and depression in families with children diagnosed with severe cognitive disabilities. Previous research on parents with children with disabilities was reviewed. Studies were selected from peer-reviewed journal articles that specifically included children with an IQ below 70 or a noted cognitive impairment of a severe degree. Children in the study had to be living at home and below the age of 21. Significant levels of stress and depression were not found consistently in the studies reviewed. Parents of children with disabilities did report levels of stress and depression above the control groups …