Needs expressed by mothers and fathers of young children with disabilities

Abstract

One aspect of family adaptation to a young child with disabilities was investigated through comparison of expressed needs of mothers and fathers and examination of the relation of those needs with selected child and family characteristics. A diverse sample of more than 400 parents completed the Family Needs Survey (Bailey & Simeonsson, 1988). A factor analysis of the items for mothers yielded six distinct factors. A confirmatory factor analysis of needs expressed by fathers indicated a structure that differed significantly from that found for mothers. Mothers expressed significantly more needs than did fathers. Although SES and disability type accounted for significant variance in needs of mothers, an examination of mean values suggested the effect to be of limited clinical significance.