absence of a disability. Maladaptive behavior
and care needs may be the more important
risk factors for family impact and stress.
Marital adjustment and family functioning
In addition, the way the family functions
in response to the child’s disability has a
critical relationship to family outcomes.
Researchers have noted that marital and
family functioning may be far more important
predictors of parenting stress and depression
than the presence or absence of childhood
disability. Abbeduto et.al. (2004) found that
diagnosis-specific differences in parenting
stress disappeared when child behavior,
parental coping style, maternal education,
family income, age of the child, and number
of children in the family were controlled.
Kersh, et al. (2006) found when controlling
for marital quality, neither child functioning
nor child behaviors were significant predictors
of maternal and paternal depressive symptoms
or parenting stress. Smith, Oliver, and
Innocenti (2001) noted that although poor
social skills in the child were a predictor of
parent stress, family functioning was a much
stronger predictor. The causal directions
between stress and family functioning cannot
be determined from these findings. Yet, these
studies point to the need for practitioners to
pay attention to parental relationships and
overall family functioning because these can
be important risk factors for parental stress.
Although several studies have examined
the negative impacts of poor family
functioning, Lustig (1997) found that most
families of children with disabilities do not
experience poor functioning. In a study of
family typologies, Lustig found that most
families of children with disabilities displayed
either a coherent or flexible profile, and that
only 7% of families exhibited a vulnerable
profile which was characterized by a lack of
functioning, coherence, resources, and
adaptability. The results of Lustig’s research
suggest that families of children with a