1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«There is a general agreement in the literature that no systematic correlation exists between parental intellectual disability per se and parenting performance. Yet, a few studies in the field of parents and parenting with intellectual disability have explored other potential determinants of parenting and child outcomes. In this study, we examined the relationship between maternal social support, psychological well-being, parenting style, quality of the home environment and child problem behaviours.» (p. 320)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«In this study, we tested four hypotheses derived from Feldman’s (2002) ecological model. These were:
1. There is a relationship between social support (support network size and satisfaction with support), parenting style (hostile, positive, consistent) and quality of the
HOME environment.
2. The relationship between social support, and both parenting style and quality of the HOME environment is mediated by maternal psychological well-being (self-reported
mental health and parenting stress).
3. There is a relationship between maternal psychological wellbeing and child problem behaviors. And,
[4.] The relationship between maternal psychological wellbeing and child problem behaviours is mediated by parenting style.» (p. 321)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
32 mothers with intellectual disabilities and each mother’s oldest child in the 2- to-13-year age range

Instruments :
Guide d’entrevue
Demographic and social support questionnaire
SF-36
Parenting Stress Index
HOME Inventory
Child Behavior Checklist
Canadian National Longitudinal Study on Children and Youth parenting questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

This study focused on potential determinants of parenting performance that could be relevant to understand the case of parenting with intellectual disability. Its results showed that «[o]n an average, the participating mothers reported poorer physical and mental health compared with population norms. However, a few reported clinically significant levels of parenting stress. Overall, the target children did not have significant problem behaviours, but these were more common in older children. Main findings include a significant correlation between parenting stress, parenting style and perceived child problem behaviours.» (p. 320) The authors conclude that «[g]lobal assessment, including health status (mental and physical) and level of parenting stress, as well as everyday life and parenting skills is recommended as basis for designing individualized supports and services for mothers with intellectual disabilities.» (p. 320)