Family resources as resistance factors for psychological maladjustment in chronically iii and handicapped children

© 1992, by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. About 10% of children experience a serious chronic physical illness (e.g., Pless, 1968; Pless & Douglas, 1971) and they constitute 50% of pediatric practice (Magrab & Calcagno, 1978). Children with chronic physical illness or handicap are at risk for psychological adjustment problems, though there is wide variation in individual functioning (e.g., Breslau, 1985; Rutter, Tizard, & Whitmore, 1970). Wallander, Varni, Babani, Banis, and Wilcox (1988), for example, found 270 children with one of six chronic physical disorders to be reported by their mothers as evidencing on the average more behavioral and social competence problems than expected based on norms for children in general. However, only a small proportion could be considered clinically maladjusted. The majority rather was reported with no problems.

Family resources as resistance factors for psychological maladjustment in chronically iii and handicapped children Chapter