Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

The impact of children with chronic health problems on marriage

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/9306t137b

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  • The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of having a child with a chrome illness or handicapping condition on marital quality and perceived marital stability. The subject is important because the belief that marriages in parents of chronically ill or handicapped children are uniformly less happy and more prone to dissolution has been a basis for clinical policy and interventions. Most of the research in this area has been based on nonrepresentative, clinical samples. The present study utilizes the National Study of Families and Households (NSFH), a nationally representative sample of U.S. families. The experimental group consisted of married mothers and fathers caring for a child with a chrome illness or disability ( = 94). This group was contrasted with both a large (j = 3,693) control group, and a smaller ( = 94), matched group of parents with well children. Ordinary least squares regression analyses were utilized to answer the questions: (a) Are there significant differences between parents of children with chronic health problems and parents of well children in marital quality?, (b) Do these groups differ significantly with respect to perceived marital stability?, and (c) Does marital quality affect marital stability differently in parents of children with chronic health problems than in parents of well children? Contrary to the study hypothesis, parents of children with chronic health problems did not report lower marital quality than parents of well children. As expected, however, perceived marital stability was not affected negatively by the presence of a child with a chronic illness or handicapping condition. Contrary to expectations, however, marital quality did not affect the marital stability of parents of children with chronic health problems differently than that of parents of well children. Although far from definitive, this research indicated that the stress of having a child with a chronic health problem does not necessarily lead to marital unhappiness or dissolution. The findings, from a nationally representative sample, suggest that clinicians and researchers would benefit from an increased understanding of marital processes in families wherein there is a child with a disability or chronic illness. Furthermore, it would be unwise to develop interventions or research programs based exclusively on studies of parents with chronically ill children who seek clinical services.
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