This paper reviews demographic data on changes in the prevalence and types of single-parent families of handicapped and nonhandicapped children. Research on adaptation in single-parent families of handicapped children is discussed and critiqued with a view to identifying areas for future research. Service needs of these families are noted, and an overview of some employment-related and publicly founded resources for family needs is provided.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Allen, D.A., Affleck, G., McGrade, B.J., & McQueeny, M. (1984). Effects of single-parent status on mothers and their high-risk infants. Infant Behavior and Development, 7, 347-357.
2.
Allen, J.E. (1980). Managing teenage pregnancy: Access to abortions, contraception, and sex education. New York: Praeger Publications.
3.
Appell, M., & Tisdall, W. (1968). Factors influencing institutionalized from noninstitutionalized referred retardates. American Journal of Mental Deficiency , 73, 424-482.
4.
Beckman, P.B. (1983). Characteristics of handicapped infants: A study of the relationship between child characteristics and stress as reported by mothers. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 88, 150-156.
5.
Bristol, M.M. (1982). Families at Risk. A final report submitted to the Special Education Program as part of the final report of the Carolina Institute for Research on Early Education of the Handicapped (CIREEH).
6.
Bristol, M.M. (1987). Methodological caveats in the assessment of single-parent families of handicapped children. Journal of the Divison for Early Childhood, Council for Exceptional Children, 11, 135-142.
7.
Bristol, M.M. (in press). Mothers of autistic and communication impaired children: Successful adaptation and the Double ABCX Model. Journal of Austism and Developmental Disabilities.
8.
Bristol, M.M., Schopler, E., & McConnaughey, R. (1984, December). The prevalence of separation and divorce in families of young developmentally disabled children .
9.
Broman, S. (1981). Long term development of children born to teenagers . In K. Scott, T. Field, & E. Robertson (Eds.), Teenage parents and their offspring. New York: Grune and Stratton, Inc.
10.
Bumpass, L. (1984). Children and marital disruption: A replication and update. Demography, 21, 71-82.
11.
Burke, S.O. (1979). Familial strain and development of normal and handicapped children in single and two-parent families. Dissertation Abstracts International, 39, 4117. (Microform #36599).
12.
Campbell, F., Breitmayer, B., & Ramey, C. (1986). Disadvantaged single teenage mothers and their children: Consequences of educational daycare. Family Relations , 35, 63-68.
13.
Chilman, C. (1980). Social and psychological research concerning adolescent childbearing: 1970-1980. Journal of Marriage and the Family , 142, 793-805.
14.
Darling, R.B., & Darling, J. (1982). Children who are different: Meeting the challenges of birth defects in society. St. Louis: C. V. Mosby Company.
15.
Davis, M., & McKay, D.N. (1973). Mentally subnormal children and their families. Lancet, 11(7835), 974-975.
16.
Dobelstein, A.W. (1980). Politics, economics, and public welfare. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
17.
Dorner, S. (1975). The relationship of physical handicap to stress in families with an adolescent with spina bifida. Developmental Medicine in Child Neurology, 17, 765-776.
18.
Freeberg, N.E., & Payne, D.T. (1968). Parental influence on cognitive growth in early childhood. Child Development, 38, 65-87.
19.
Gunter, N., & Labarba, R. (1980). The consequence of adolescent childbearing on postnatal development. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 3, 191-214.
20.
Haskins, R., Dobelstein, A., Akin, J., & Schwartz, B. (1985). Estimates of national child support collections potential and the income security of female-headed families. Final Report Grant #18-P-00259-4-01. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
21.
Haskins, R., Schwartz, J.B., Akin, J.S., & Dobelstein, A.W. (1986). How much child support can absent fathers pay?Policy Review, 14201-222.
22.
Hetherington, E. (1972). Effects of father absence on personality development in adolescent daughters. Developmental Psychology, 7, 313-325.
23.
Heatherington, E., Cox, M., & Cox, R. (1981). Effects of divorce on parents and children. Nontraditional Families, 233-288.
24.
Heatherington, E., Cox, M., & Cox, R. (1985). Long-term effects of divorce and remarriage on the adjustment of children. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 24, 518-530.
25.
Hill, R. (1986). Life cycle stages for types of single parent families: Of family development theory. Family Relations, 35, 19-29.
26.
Hines, S. (1980). Adolescent pregnancy and parenthood: Planning for systematic services. Chicago: United Way.
27.
Hobbs, N. (1964). A comparison of institutionalized and noninstitutionalized mentally retarded. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 69, 206-212.
28.
Holroyd, J. (1974). The Questionnaire on resources and stress: An instrument to measure family response to a handicapped member. Journal of Community Psychology, 2, 92-94.
29.
Ihinger-Tallman, M. (1986). Member adjustment in single parent families: Theory building. Family Relations, 35, 215-221.
30.
Kellam, S., Anthony, J., & Ensminger, M. (1986). The developmental epidemiological framework for family research on depression and aggression. Paper presented at the Family Research Consortium First Annual Summer Institute , Teton Village, WY
31.
Kolin, I., Scherzer, A., New, B., & Garfield, M. (1971). Studies of the school-age child with meningomyelocele: Social and emotional adaptation. Pediatrics, 78, 1013-1019.
32.
Lamb, M.E. (1983). Mothers, Fathers, & Childcare in a Changing World. 1-27.
33.
Lamb, M.E., Pleck, J.H., Charnov, E.L., & Levine, J.A. (in press). In J. B. Lancaster, J. Altmann, A. Rossi , & L. Sherrod (Eds.), Parenting across the lifespan: Bio-social perspectives. Chicago: Aldine.
34.
Landerholm, E. (1982). High-risk infants of teenage mothers: Later candidates for special education placements? Journal of the Division for Early Childhood, 6, 3-13.
35.
Martin, P. (1975). Marital breakdown in families of children with spina bifida cystica. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology , 17, 757-764.
36.
Monkus, E., & Bancalari, E. (1981). Neonatal outcome. In K. Scott, T. Field, & E. Robertson (Eds.), Teenage parents and their offspring. New York: Grune and Stratton, Inc.
37.
Moore, K., Hofferth, S., Wertheimer, R., Waite, L., & Caldwell, S. (1981). Teenage childbearing: Consequences for women, families, and government welfare expenditures. In K. G. Scott, T. Field, and E. Robertson (Eds.), Teenage Parents and Their Offspring (pp. 35-54). New York: Grune and Stratton.
38.
Norton, A.J., & Glick, P.C. (1986). One parent families: A social and economic profile . Family Relations, 35 (1), 9-17.
39.
Ozawa, M. (1983). The economic predicament of female-headed families . New England Journal of Human Services, 32-37.
40.
Parents Without Partners. (1986). Single Parent Resource List. Silver Springs, MD: Parents Without Partners.
41.
Prestridge, S. (1985). Adolescent and/or single parent problems and issues . University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Unpublished report of a meeting of directors of HCEEP funded projects serving adolescent or single parents.
42.
Price-Bonham, S., & Addison, S. (1978). Families and mentally retarded children: Emphasis on the father. The Family Coordinator, 27(3), 221-230.
43.
Ramey, C.T., & Bryant, D.M. (1982). Evidence involving prevention of developmental retardation during infancy. Journal of theDivision of Early Childhood, 5.
44.
Reed, E.W., & Reed, S.C. (1965). Mental retardation: A family study. Philadelphia: Saunders Publishing.
45.
Roesel, R., & Lawlis, G. (1983). Divorce in families of genetically handicapped/ mentally retarded individuals. American Journal of Family Therapy, 11, 45-50.
46.
Schilling, R.F., Kirkham, M.A., Snow, W.H., & Schinke, S.P. (1986). Single mothers with handicapped children: Different from their married counterparts? Family Relations, 35, 69-78.
47.
Stevens, J.H. (1980). The consequence of early childbearing. Young Children.
48.
Tew, B.J., Laurence, K.M., Payne, H., & Rawnsley, K. (1977). Marital stability following the birth of a child with spina bifida. British Journal of Psychiatry, 131, 79-32.
49.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1983). Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1984 (104th Edition). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
50.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1985). Current Population Reports. Series P-20, No. 398, Household and Family Characteristics March 1984. Printing Office, Washington, DC: U.S. Government.
51.
Weitzman, L. (1985). The divorce revolution: The unexpected social and economic consequences for women and children in America. Chicago: Free Press.
52.
Wikler, L. (1979). Single parents of mentally retarded children: A neglected population. Paper presented at meeting of the American Association of Mental Deficiency, Miami, FL
53.
Wikler, L. (1981). Chronic stresses of families of mentally retarded children. Family Relations, 39, 231-235.
54.
Wikler, L., Haack, J., & Intagliata, J. (1984). Bearing the burden alone? Helping divorced mothers of children with developmental disabilities. In Families with Handicapped Members: The Family Therapy Collection . Rockville: Aspen Systems Corporation .