Marital Quality and Adaptive Behavior of Children with and without Disabilities

Abstract

This quantitative study aimed to describe the sociodemographic profile of mothers of children with and without disabilities and to correlate the quality of the marital relationship, based on dyadic adjustment, marital satisfaction, dyadic coping, and empathy, with the adaptive behavior of the children, and to compare the groups regarding this last variable. 78 married women or women in stable relationships participated, all mothers of children with disabilities (n = 39) and children without disabilities (n = 39). The following instruments were used: RDAS, RAS, ICD, IRIC, DABS, and a sociodemographic information inventory. The sociodemographic profile of the two groups was similar. Marital quality was not directly influenced by the child's disability there was no significant correlations between the children's behavior and the variables of marital relationship. There were significant differences between groups in the three adaptive behavior factors, with strong effect sizes, especially social skills, indicating greater deficits in the group with disabilities.