Mothers with spinal cord injuries: impact on marital, family, and children's adjustment

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate how mothers with spinal cord injury (SCI) adjust to parenting, their marriages, and their families, and how their children adjust to their mothers' disability.

Design: Randomized control study of mothers with SCI and their children, matched to able-bodied mothers and their children on key demographic variables.

Setting: Subjects were selected from 7 regional Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems from across the United States.

Participants: A total of 310 volunteers (experimental: 88 mothers with SCI, 46 partners, 31 children; matched controls: 84 able-bodied mothers, 33 partners, 28 children).

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main outcome measures: Children's adjustment, gender role identity; self-esteem; children's attitude toward mother and father; dyadic and family adjustment; parenting stress; and satisfaction.

Results: No significant differences were found between mothers with SCI and able-bodied mothers. Moreover, there were no significant differences between children raised in families with mothers with SCI and children raised in families with able-bodied mothers. Also, no significant differences were found in dyadic or family functioning with mothers with SCI or able-bodied mothers.

Conclusions: SCI in mothers does not appear to affect their children adversely in terms of individual adjustment, attitudes toward their parents, self-esteem, gender roles, and family functioning. Our results may challenge health care providers, social policy-makers, and the general public to end negative stereotyping of children, couples, and families with a disabled mother and wife.