Scholarly record

THE EFFECT OF PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL QUALITY OF LIFE IN FAMILIES HAVING A CHILD WITH CHRONIC ILLNESSES OR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

A. E. Zaitseva, D.Ye. Vlasova, O. V. Balina, E. A. Esipenko, Z.K. Muratova

Abstract

Having a child with chronic illnesses or developmental disabilities have a transformative impact on each family member and can affect a family’s psychological quality of life. But the effects of the disease severity on quality of life have not been shown in some previous studies. So the question why does the quality of life differ in different families with “special” children still exists. This study aims at evaluating the factors that can affect the quality of life in families having a child with chronic illnesses or developmental disabilities. This study followed 120 Russian families with children 2-17 years of age suffering from chronic illnesses (diabetes, gastritis, vegetative-vascular dystonia) or developmental disabilities (cognitive disorders, autism, ADHD, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, hearing and speech disorders). Data were collected separately on parents and child to assess the children’s and parent’s psychological quality of life and the parent’s attitude to the child's illness. Aspects of parent-child relationships and family situations were also assessed.

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