Learning-Disabled Boys' Anxiety, Parental Anxiety, and Family Climate

Abstract

Perceptions of anxiety and family climate in families of learning-disabled (LD) boys were examined. Anxiety levels of 20 LD boys, parents' anxiety levels, and perceptions of family climate were compared with those of 20 nondisabled boys and their parents. LD boys and their parents were more anxious than the control group; LD family climate reflected greater emphasis on organization and control, more orientation toward achievement and religion, and less encouragement of free expression of emotions. Specific pattern of relations between parent and child measures highlight the difference between the two groups with respect to fathers' and mothers' roles.