engleski

Parents of children with developmental difficulties and parents of typically developed children: what happens in a year?

Parents of children with developmental difficulties (DD) face many challenges on every day basis. Compared to a parent of a typically developed (TD) child, these parents are in risk to experience a drop in well-being in general and in specific domains. As a part of the CRO- WELL project, earlier we explored differences in wellbeing of parents of children with DD and matching group of parents of TD children. Results showed that both groups of parents were equally happy and satisfied with their lives in general, but parents of TD children where more satisfied with their free time and felt pleasant more frequently. Aim of current study was to explore what happened in one-year time. Out of initial sample of 41 parents by group, second wave of this longitudinal project was completed by 19 parents of children with DD and 27 parents of TD children. Results showed that, after one year, parents of children with DD were less happy, less satisfied with health, family, friends, security, future and felt positive emotions on fewer occasions compared to parents of TD children. During that year, parents of children with DD experienced three times more negative events than parents of TD children. Additionally, they evaluate life events to be less positive and more negative compared to parents of TD children. Parents of children with DD have lower well-being but also experience more negative life events. Therefore, it seems that having a child with DD reflects on many life domains and shapes lives of parents.

parents of children with disability ; well-being ; life events ; positive and negative emotions

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