Effects of Adlerian Parent Education on Parents' Stress and Perception of Their Learning Disabled Child's Behavior

• Main Author: Latson, Sherry R. (Sherry Rose)
• Other Authors: Wilborn, Bobbie L.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: North Texas State University 1986
• Subjects: learning disabled children; stress and anxiety; parent child relationship; Parenting > Psychological aspects.; Parenting > Study and teaching.; Parent and child.; Slow learning children > Family relationships.; Parents of children with disabilities > Family relationships.
• Online Access: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc331318/

This study examined the effects of an Adlerian-based parent education program on parental stress and perception of Learning Disabled (LD) childrens' behavior. Forty parents, randomly assigned to treatment or waiting-list control groups, took the Parental Stress Index (PSI) and the Adlerian Parental Assessment of Child Behavior Rating Scale (APACBS) as pre and post tests. Parents in the treatment group attended a six-session Active Parenting program. No significant differences were found on the analysis of covariance for perceived parental stress following the parent education program. Seventy percent of the parents in this study had total PSI scores in the range defined as high stress by the PSI author. All of the PSI Child Domain pretest z scores were elevated indicating that parents perceive their LD children to be demanding, moody, distractible, and unadaptable. LD children's behavior is perceived as unacceptable and does not positively reinforce parents. The elevated z scores on the PSI parent Domain pretest indicate that parents of LD children feel less competent as parents and experience less attachment to their children than do parents of normal children. No significant differences were found on the APACBS following treatment, but 80 percent of the parents in the treatment group did perceive some positive behavior change. A positive correlation was found between the PSI and the APACBS indicating that perceived parental stress and child behavior are related. Parents identified 67 perceived stresors of raising LD children on a questionnaire. The results of this study indicate that parents of LD children perceive themselves to experience greater parenting stress than parents of normal childrenn. This perceived parental stress was not reduced and perception of children's behavior was not improved after participation in the Active Parenting program. Therefore, parent education groups for parents of LD children may need to be smaller, provide more time to address the issues specific to raising an LD child, and include a stronger counseling emphasis in order to provide more emotional support for these highly stressed parents.