The Division of Responsibilities in Families With Preschool Handicapped and Nonhandicapped Children

Abstract

The presence of a handicapped child within the family constellation suggests an added dimension of stress in the already complex dynamics of intrafamily social organization in contemporary American society. The present study compared the allocation of responsibilities within families with preschool handicapped children with those of families with preschool normal children. Subjects were 50 pairs of parents of moderately to severely handicapped preschool children and 83 pairs of parents of preschool nonhandicapped children, The Carolina Family Responsibility Scale was used to yield information on how responsibilities were divided between husband and wife. Research questions focused on differences between groups in parent responsibility allocations; differences between groups in level of satisfaction with current execution of family roles; and differences between mothers and fathers in their own role satisfactions and desired role behavior. Results are discussed and further questions posed regarding family role allocation and the ways in which families with handicapped members adapt to stress.