Background This study examines the contribution of the marital relationship to the well-being of ... more Background This study examines the contribution of the marital relationship to the well-being of both mothers and fathers of children with developmental disabilities. Parent well-being is conceptualized in terms of mental health, parenting stress and parenting efficacy. Methods These analyses are based on data from families participating in the Early Intervention Collaborative Study, an ongoing longitudinal investigation of the development of children with disabilities and the adaptation of their families. Multidimensional assessment techniques were used to collect data from married mothers and fathers and their child with a disability. Mother and father data were analysed separately using parallel hierarchical regression models. Results For both mothers and fathers, greater marital quality predicted lower parenting stress and fewer depressive symptoms above and beyond socio-economic status, child characteristics and social support. In relation to parenting efficacy, marital qual...
Child care arrangements used by mothers of 5-year-old children with developmental disabilities we... more Child care arrangements used by mothers of 5-year-old children with developmental disabilities were described as were the difficulties they experienced in locating that care and their satisfaction with it. Care provided by relatives was the most common arrangement; center-based care was the least common. Mothers of children who had the most severe developmental delays and who exhibited behavior problems experienced greater difficulty in locating care. The findings suggest that child care options should be increased by training providers who work in out-of-home settings and by expanding respite services to include the provision of in-home child care.
10 School Environments and the Diverging Pathways of Students Living in Poverty Penny Hauser-Cram... more 10 School Environments and the Diverging Pathways of Students Living in Poverty Penny Hauser-Cram, Marji Erickson Warfield, Jenny Stadler, and ... important correlate of students' achievement at entry to middle childhood (Goddard, Sweetland, & Hoy, 2000; Hoy & Sabo, 1998 ...
OBJECTIVE: This purpose of this study was to describe differences in early intervention (EI) part... more OBJECTIVE: This purpose of this study was to describe differences in early intervention (EI) participation according to state among a cohort of young children with parent-reported developmental delays and disabilities. METHODS: Data were obtained from the 2005–2006 National Survey of Children With Special Health Care Needs to describe state differences in EI participation. Multilevel modeling was used to estimate the relative contributions of child sociodemographic and developmental characteristics, and state EI eligibility policy on EI participation. RESULTS: The overall rate of EI participation was 45.7% (23.1%–83.3% across the states). EI participants were less likely to be Hispanic, live in a multiracial family, be poor, have a developmental delay, or have a less severe condition/delay. The predicted probability of receiving EI was lower for children who lived in states with more strict EI eligibility criteria than those with liberal criteria (.43 vs .52). Poverty influenced thi...
Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 1999
This study documents the extent to which child-related and parenting stress vary during the early... more This study documents the extent to which child-related and parenting stress vary during the early childhood period among mothers of children with developmental disabilities. The degree to which specific aspects of the family environment predict stress levels measured at age 3 years and 5 years, after controlling for child characteristics and family income, is also investigated. The Parenting Stress Index was completed by 79 mothers of children with developmental disabilities at three time points: (1) within 1 month of the child's entry into an early intervention program (T1); (2) within 1 month of the child's third birthday (T3); and (3) within 1 month of the child's fifth birthday (T5). Data on child characteristics and family income as well as measures of the family environment (i.e., negative life events, cohesion, and family support) were gathered at both T1 and T3. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to assess whether there was significant change in the child-related and parenting stress scores across the three time points. Two sets of hierarchical regression equations were also analyzed. The first examined which child, family, and family environment characteristics assessed at T1 predicted stress at T3. The second identified the predictors of T5 stress based on independent variables measured at T3. Child-related stress increased significantly across the three time points, whereas parenting stress remained fairly stable. By age 5 years, one-third of the mothers had child-related stress scores above the clinical cutoff point. Regression analyses revealed the importance of the family environment in predicting both stress outcomes. The only statistically significant predictor of child-related stress at T3 was family cohesion, whereas parenting stress at T3 was predicted by income, cohesion, and family support. The predictors of both child-related and parenting stress at T5 were the same. Greater family cohesion and fewer negative life events predicted lower stress scores at T5. The significant increase in child-related stress during the early childhood period warrants attention by pediatricians, educators, and other professionals who must evaluate the needs of families of children with disabilities for supportive services. Aspects of the family environment were shown to be critical and consistent determinants of both child-related and parenting stress throughout the early childhood period. This finding suggests that pediatricians, in particular, must assess more than simply the diagnosis or the cognitive impairment of the child with a disability to make informed decisions about the frequency with which they should see particular families and whether referral to other services is necessary.
American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2011
This study described predictors of caregiver burden among parents of children with developmental ... more This study described predictors of caregiver burden among parents of children with developmental disabilities. The sample, obtained from the 2005–2006 National Survey of Children With Special Health Care Needs, included 12,225 children, aged 5 to 17 years, with a developmental disability. Structural equation modeling assessed the relationships between the factors of Caregiver Burden, Ease of Accessing and Navigating the Health Care System, and Unmet Health Care Needs. Caregiver burden was inversely associated with ease of accessing and navigating the health care system (β = −0.094, SE (β) = 0.045) and positively associated with unmet health care needs (β = 0.428, SE (β) = 0.036). Parents of poor, minority, and uninsured children experienced significantly greater caregiver burden. Bolstering services, particularly for vulnerable families, may ameliorate caregiver burden.
Background. Clinicians, scientists, and policy makers are increasingly taking interest in the lon... more Background. Clinicians, scientists, and policy makers are increasingly taking interest in the long-term outcomes of early intervention programs undertaken during the 1960s and 1970s, which were intended to improve young children's health and educational prospects. The Brookline Early Education Project (BEEP) was an innovative, community-based program that provided health and developmental services for children and their families from 3 months before birth until entry into kindergarten. It was open to all families in the town of Brookline and to families from neighboring Boston, to include a mixture of families from suburban and urban communities. The goal of the project, which was administered by the Brookline Public Schools, was to ensure that children would enter kindergarten healthy and ready to learn. Objective. Outcome studies of BEEP and comparison children during kindergarten and second grade demonstrated the program's effectiveness during the early school years. The ...
Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 2001
This Monograph presents the results of the Early Intervention Collaborative Study, a longitudinal... more This Monograph presents the results of the Early Intervention Collaborative Study, a longitudinal investigation of the cognitive and adaptive behavior development of children with developmental disabilities and the adaptation of their parents, extending from infancy through middle childhood. The study was designed to generate and test conceptual models of child and family development and contribute to the knowledge base that informs social policy and practice. The sample for the investigation reported here consists of 183 children with Down syndrome, motor impairment, developmental delay and their families who were recruited at the time of their enrollment in an early intervention program in Massachusetts or New Hampshire. Data were collected at five time points between entry to early intervention and the child's 10th birthday. Home visits were conducted at each time point and included child assessments, maternal interview, and questionnaires completed independently by both parents. Trajectories in children's development and parental well-being were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. Predictor variables were measured at age 3 years when children were exiting early intervention programs. Children's type of disability predicted trajectories of development in cognition, social skills, and daily living skills. Children's type of disability also predicted changes in maternal (but not paternal) child-related and parent-related stress. Beyond type of disability, child self-regulatory processes (notably behavior problems and mastery motivation) and one aspect of the family climate (notably mother-child interaction) were key predictors of change in both child outcomes and parent well-being. A different aspect of the family climate--family relations--also predicted change in child social skills. Parent assets, measured as social support and problem-focused coping, predicted change in maternal and paternal parent-related stress respectively. The implications of these findings for both the science of child development and the policies and practices of developmental intervention are discussed.
Background This study examines the contribution of the marital relationship to the well-being of ... more Background This study examines the contribution of the marital relationship to the well-being of both mothers and fathers of children with developmental disabilities. Parent well-being is conceptualized in terms of mental health, parenting stress and parenting efficacy. Methods These analyses are based on data from families participating in the Early Intervention Collaborative Study, an ongoing longitudinal investigation of the development of children with disabilities and the adaptation of their families. Multidimensional assessment techniques were used to collect data from married mothers and fathers and their child with a disability. Mother and father data were analysed separately using parallel hierarchical regression models. Results For both mothers and fathers, greater marital quality predicted lower parenting stress and fewer depressive symptoms above and beyond socio-economic status, child characteristics and social support. In relation to parenting efficacy, marital qual...
Child care arrangements used by mothers of 5-year-old children with developmental disabilities we... more Child care arrangements used by mothers of 5-year-old children with developmental disabilities were described as were the difficulties they experienced in locating that care and their satisfaction with it. Care provided by relatives was the most common arrangement; center-based care was the least common. Mothers of children who had the most severe developmental delays and who exhibited behavior problems experienced greater difficulty in locating care. The findings suggest that child care options should be increased by training providers who work in out-of-home settings and by expanding respite services to include the provision of in-home child care.
10 School Environments and the Diverging Pathways of Students Living in Poverty Penny Hauser-Cram... more 10 School Environments and the Diverging Pathways of Students Living in Poverty Penny Hauser-Cram, Marji Erickson Warfield, Jenny Stadler, and ... important correlate of students' achievement at entry to middle childhood (Goddard, Sweetland, & Hoy, 2000; Hoy & Sabo, 1998 ...
OBJECTIVE: This purpose of this study was to describe differences in early intervention (EI) part... more OBJECTIVE: This purpose of this study was to describe differences in early intervention (EI) participation according to state among a cohort of young children with parent-reported developmental delays and disabilities. METHODS: Data were obtained from the 2005–2006 National Survey of Children With Special Health Care Needs to describe state differences in EI participation. Multilevel modeling was used to estimate the relative contributions of child sociodemographic and developmental characteristics, and state EI eligibility policy on EI participation. RESULTS: The overall rate of EI participation was 45.7% (23.1%–83.3% across the states). EI participants were less likely to be Hispanic, live in a multiracial family, be poor, have a developmental delay, or have a less severe condition/delay. The predicted probability of receiving EI was lower for children who lived in states with more strict EI eligibility criteria than those with liberal criteria (.43 vs .52). Poverty influenced thi...
Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 1999
This study documents the extent to which child-related and parenting stress vary during the early... more This study documents the extent to which child-related and parenting stress vary during the early childhood period among mothers of children with developmental disabilities. The degree to which specific aspects of the family environment predict stress levels measured at age 3 years and 5 years, after controlling for child characteristics and family income, is also investigated. The Parenting Stress Index was completed by 79 mothers of children with developmental disabilities at three time points: (1) within 1 month of the child's entry into an early intervention program (T1); (2) within 1 month of the child's third birthday (T3); and (3) within 1 month of the child's fifth birthday (T5). Data on child characteristics and family income as well as measures of the family environment (i.e., negative life events, cohesion, and family support) were gathered at both T1 and T3. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to assess whether there was significant change in the child-related and parenting stress scores across the three time points. Two sets of hierarchical regression equations were also analyzed. The first examined which child, family, and family environment characteristics assessed at T1 predicted stress at T3. The second identified the predictors of T5 stress based on independent variables measured at T3. Child-related stress increased significantly across the three time points, whereas parenting stress remained fairly stable. By age 5 years, one-third of the mothers had child-related stress scores above the clinical cutoff point. Regression analyses revealed the importance of the family environment in predicting both stress outcomes. The only statistically significant predictor of child-related stress at T3 was family cohesion, whereas parenting stress at T3 was predicted by income, cohesion, and family support. The predictors of both child-related and parenting stress at T5 were the same. Greater family cohesion and fewer negative life events predicted lower stress scores at T5. The significant increase in child-related stress during the early childhood period warrants attention by pediatricians, educators, and other professionals who must evaluate the needs of families of children with disabilities for supportive services. Aspects of the family environment were shown to be critical and consistent determinants of both child-related and parenting stress throughout the early childhood period. This finding suggests that pediatricians, in particular, must assess more than simply the diagnosis or the cognitive impairment of the child with a disability to make informed decisions about the frequency with which they should see particular families and whether referral to other services is necessary.
American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2011
This study described predictors of caregiver burden among parents of children with developmental ... more This study described predictors of caregiver burden among parents of children with developmental disabilities. The sample, obtained from the 2005–2006 National Survey of Children With Special Health Care Needs, included 12,225 children, aged 5 to 17 years, with a developmental disability. Structural equation modeling assessed the relationships between the factors of Caregiver Burden, Ease of Accessing and Navigating the Health Care System, and Unmet Health Care Needs. Caregiver burden was inversely associated with ease of accessing and navigating the health care system (β = −0.094, SE (β) = 0.045) and positively associated with unmet health care needs (β = 0.428, SE (β) = 0.036). Parents of poor, minority, and uninsured children experienced significantly greater caregiver burden. Bolstering services, particularly for vulnerable families, may ameliorate caregiver burden.
Background. Clinicians, scientists, and policy makers are increasingly taking interest in the lon... more Background. Clinicians, scientists, and policy makers are increasingly taking interest in the long-term outcomes of early intervention programs undertaken during the 1960s and 1970s, which were intended to improve young children's health and educational prospects. The Brookline Early Education Project (BEEP) was an innovative, community-based program that provided health and developmental services for children and their families from 3 months before birth until entry into kindergarten. It was open to all families in the town of Brookline and to families from neighboring Boston, to include a mixture of families from suburban and urban communities. The goal of the project, which was administered by the Brookline Public Schools, was to ensure that children would enter kindergarten healthy and ready to learn. Objective. Outcome studies of BEEP and comparison children during kindergarten and second grade demonstrated the program's effectiveness during the early school years. The ...
Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 2001
This Monograph presents the results of the Early Intervention Collaborative Study, a longitudinal... more This Monograph presents the results of the Early Intervention Collaborative Study, a longitudinal investigation of the cognitive and adaptive behavior development of children with developmental disabilities and the adaptation of their parents, extending from infancy through middle childhood. The study was designed to generate and test conceptual models of child and family development and contribute to the knowledge base that informs social policy and practice. The sample for the investigation reported here consists of 183 children with Down syndrome, motor impairment, developmental delay and their families who were recruited at the time of their enrollment in an early intervention program in Massachusetts or New Hampshire. Data were collected at five time points between entry to early intervention and the child's 10th birthday. Home visits were conducted at each time point and included child assessments, maternal interview, and questionnaires completed independently by both parents. Trajectories in children's development and parental well-being were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. Predictor variables were measured at age 3 years when children were exiting early intervention programs. Children's type of disability predicted trajectories of development in cognition, social skills, and daily living skills. Children's type of disability also predicted changes in maternal (but not paternal) child-related and parent-related stress. Beyond type of disability, child self-regulatory processes (notably behavior problems and mastery motivation) and one aspect of the family climate (notably mother-child interaction) were key predictors of change in both child outcomes and parent well-being. A different aspect of the family climate--family relations--also predicted change in child social skills. Parent assets, measured as social support and problem-focused coping, predicted change in maternal and paternal parent-related stress respectively. The implications of these findings for both the science of child development and the policies and practices of developmental intervention are discussed.
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