The Comparative Study of Families with a Child with Normative and Disordered Development

The article presents the results of a comprehensive study of families raising children with normative and disordered development. The following parameters were in the focus of the study: the structure of the family system, parent-child relationships and personality of parents. This analysis revealed the characteristics of families raising children with disabilities. The study involved 90 families raising a child of early or preschool age, including 40 families with a healthy child and 50 families with atypical child. The differences were shown in the structure of the family system and its adaptive capacities, in the parental attitudes towards their child and in construction of the child development perspective in the near and distant future. The specifics of using the coping strategies in stressful situations by mothers of the child with disabilities were shown – mostly opting for a strategy aimed at solving the problem. The study shows that the level of anxiety in mothers and fathers of the atypical child was slightly elevated.

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