Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
| <mark>Journal publication date</mark> | 12/2006 |
|---|---|
| <mark>Journal</mark> | Journal of Intellectual Disability Research |
| Issue number | 12 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Pages (from-to) | 862-873 |
| Publication Status | Published |
| <mark>Original language</mark> | English |
Backrgound Many previous studies have reported that mothers of children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) are more likely to show signs of psychological distress and have lower well-being than mothers of 'typically developing' children. Our aim was to estimate the extent to which these differences may be accounted for by between-group differences in socio-economic position.
Methods This study involved secondary analysis of happiness, self-esteem and self-efficacy variables in a nationally representative sample of 6954 British mothers with dependent children under the age of 17 years, 514 of whom were supporting a child with an ID.
Results Mothers of children with IDs reported lower levels of happiness, self-esteem and self-efficacy than mothers of children without IDs. Statistically controlling for differences in socio-economic position, household composition and maternal characteristics fully accounted for the between-group differences in maternal happiness, and accounted for over 50% of the elevated risk for poorer self-esteem and self-efficacy.
Conclusions A socially and statistically significant proportion of the increased risk of poorer well-being among mothers of children with IDs may be attributed to their increased risk of socio-economic disadvantage.