Family Relations and Marital Quality When a Mentally Handicapped Child is Present

The quality of both family relations and marital satisfaction was assessed in 131 two-parent families who had a mentally retarded child. Both family relations and marital satisfaction were seen as outcome variables reflecting how families cope with the chronic strain of a special child. Social desirability was controlled, and family relations and marital satisfaction were related to a variety of psychosocial and child-specific variables.