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Mothers and Fathers of Adults With Mental Retardation: Feelings of Intergenerational Closeness *
Author(s) -
Essex Elizabeth Lehr
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
family relations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1741-3729
pISSN - 0197-6664
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-3729.2002.00156.x
Subject(s) - closeness , feeling , psychology , developmental psychology , daughter , personality , social psychology , mathematical analysis , mathematics , evolutionary biology , biology
On the basis of a sample of 96 married mothers and fathers, this study investigated older parents' feelings of closeness with a coresident son or daughter with mental retardation. Mothers felt closer to the adult child than fathers did. For mothers, feelings of closeness to the adult child were related to their level of education and the adult child's functional skills. For fathers, feelings of closeness were associated with their own personality characteristics, marital satisfaction, and the behavior problems and functional skills of the adult child. Implications for practice are discussed in relation to the unique experiences of these older parents.