Positive Adjustment in Parents Rearing Children with Down Syndrome

The current research investigated adjustment in mothers and fathers rearing children with Down syndrome. Families who had a Down syndrome child by birth were compared with families who had knowingly adopted a child with Down syndrome and, therefore, were likely to be well-adjusted. With this design, child characteristics were controlled to assess more accurately the impact of a birth of a child with developmental disabilities on family adjustment. For this study, both mothers and fathers completed the Family Strengths Inventory, the Holroyd QRS, and the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test. Additionally, mothers only (n = 105) completed the Beck Depression Inventory and the Nelson Index of Parental Satisfaction with Child. Results demonstrated that birth mothers and fathers were functioning quite similarly to adoptive mothers and fathers on the outcome variables. Only one significant difference at p < .01 was found and the adoptive/birth factor accounted for only 8% of its variance. Overall, birth as well as adoptive, families appeared to be adjusting well to the challenges of rearing a child with Down syndrome.