Emotional Disadaptation and Post-Traumatic Growth in Parents of Children with Disabilities:A Link with Severity of Symptoms and the Age of the Child

Sergienko A.I.
PhD Student, Faculty Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5105-4592
e-mail: sergienkoanna809@gmail.com

PDF (RUS)
Online translation in english

The article presents results of empirical studies of the effect of the subjective perception of parents of the severity of the psychophysical condition of a child with special needs and age (meaning the time elapsed after diagnosis) on depression symptoms ("Beck's depression inventory"), basic beliefs ("World Assumptions Scale") and posttraumatic growth ("Post Traumatic Growth Inventory") in parents of children with disabilities. Parents ' subjective perception of their child's condition with disabilities affects only on one of the scales of PTGI ("Spiritual changes"), as well as the severity of depressive symptoms. The period after the diagnosis of the child (i.e., the age of the child) has an impact on the symptoms of depression and baseline settings, but not on the indicators of PTGI. Based on the results obtained and the concept of PTGI, author formulated recommendations for providing psychological assistance to parents of children with disabilities, taking into account their perception of the severity of the disease and the age of the child.

Keywords: parents of children with disabilities, post-traumatic growth, stress, chronic stress, basic beliefs, symptoms of depression

Column: Empirical research

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/cpse.2019080406

For Reference

Sergienko A.I. Emotional Disadaptation and Post-Traumatic Growth in Parents of Children with Disabilities:A Link with Severity of Symptoms and the Age of the Child [Elektronnyi resurs]. Klinicheskaia i spetsial'naia psikhologiia = Clinical Psychology and Special Education, 2019. Vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 93–106. doi:10.17759/cpse.2019080406. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

Gostunskaya Y.I. «Sovladayushchee povedenie roditelei, vospityvayushchikh detei
s ogranichennymi vozmozhnostyami zdorov'ya» [The coping behavior of parents raising children with disabilities]. Materialy mezhregional'noi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii
s mezhdunarodnym uchastiem «Psikhologicheskoe blagopoluchie sovremennoi sem'i»
(g. Yaroslavl', 01 dekabrya 2016 g.) [Materials of the interregional scientific-practical conference with international participation "Psychological well-being of the modern family"]. Yaroslavl: publ. of Yaroslavl State Pedagogical University of K.D. Ushinskogo, 2016,
pp. 41–44. (In Russ.).
Kornilova T.V., Grigorenko E.L., Smirnov S.D. Podrostkovaya gruppa riska [Adolescent risk group]. Saint-Petersburg: Piter, 2005. 336 p.
Levchenko I.Yu., Prikhod'ko O.G. Tekhnologii obucheniya i vospitaniya detei
s narusheniyami oporno-dvigatel'nogo apparata [Technologies for training and education of children with musculoskeletal disorders]. Moscow: Akademiya, 2001. 192 p. (In Russ.).
Leont'ev D.A. Chelovek i zhiznennyi mir: ot ontologii k fenomenologii [Human Being and Lifeworld: From Ontology to Phenomenology]. Kul'turno-istoricheskaya psikhologiya [Cultural-Historical Psychology], 2019, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 25–34. doi:10.17759/chp. 2019150103 (In Russ., abstr. in Engl.).
Magomed-Eminov M.Sh. Pozitivnaya psihologiya cheloveka [Positive human psychology]. Moscow: PARF, 2007. 624 p. (In Russ., abstr. in Engl.).
Mateichek Z. Roditeli i deti: Kniga dlya uchitelya [Parents and Children: Teacher Book]. Moscow: Prosveshchenie, 1992. 318 p. (In Russ.).
Padun M.A., Kotel'nikova A.V. Modifikatsiya metodiki issledovaniya bazisnykh ubezhdenii lichnosti R. Yanoff-Bul'man [Modification of the methodology for the study of basic personality beliefs R. Yanoff-Bulman]. Psikhologicheskii zhurnal [Psychological journal], 2008, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 98–106. (In Russ., abstr. in Engl.).
Ryzhenko I. V., Kardanova M.S. Osobennosti reagirovaniya roditelei na prisutstvie
v sem'e rebenka-invalida. Veroyatnostnye puti psikhologicheskoi pomoshchi [Features of the reaction of parents to the presence of a disabled child in the family. Probabilistic ways of psychological assistance]. Mir psikhologii [World of psychology], 2003, vol. 35, no. 3,
pp. 242–246.
Tarabrina N.V. Praktikum po psikhologii posttravmaticheskogo stressa [Workshop on the Psychology of Post-Traumatic Stress]. Saint-Petersburg: Piter, 2001. 272 p.
Charova O.B., Savina E.A. Osobennosti materinskogo otnosheniya k rebenku
s intellektual'nym nedorazvitiem [Features of the maternal attitude towards a child with intellectual underdevelopment]. Defektologiya [Defectology], 1999, no. 5, pp. 34–39.
Achenbach, T.M.; Rescorla L.A. Manual for the ASEBA School-Age Forms and Profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families, 2001, pp. 16–17.
Janoff-Bulman R. Assumptive worlds and the stress of traumatic events: Applications of the schema construct. Social Cognition, 1989, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 113–116.
doi: 10.1521/soco.1989.7.2.113.
Janoff-Bulman R. Posttraumatic growth: Three explanatory models. Psychological Inquiry, 2004, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 30–34.
Scorgie K., Wilgosh L., Sobsey D. The experience of transformation in parents of children with disabilities: Theoretical considerations. Developmental Disabilities Bulletin, 2004, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 84–110.
Taku K., Cann A., Calhoun L.G., et al. The factor structure of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory: a comparison of five models using confirmatory factor analysis. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2008, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 158–164. doi:10.1002/jts.20305
Tedeschi R.G., Calhoun L.G. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 1996, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 455–471. doi:10.1007/BF02103658.
Tedeschi R.G., Calhoun L.G., Shakespeare-Finch J., et al. Posttraumatic Growth. Theory, Research, and Applications. New York, 2018. 264 p. doi: 10.4324/9781315527451.