1998 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Study on Relation between Stressful Life Events and Quality of Life of Families with Mentally Handicapped Children
| Project/Area Number |
08610166
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
教育・社会系心理学
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| Research Institution | National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry |
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Principal Investigator |
NAKATA Yojiro Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Chief of Section, 精神保健研究所・児童思春期精神保健部, 室長 (20106214)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KITA Michiko Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Chief, 精神保健研究所・児童思春期精神保健部, 室長 (60214780)
FUJII Kazuko Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Chief, 精神保健研究所・児童思春期精神保健部, 室長 (00181305)
KANBAYASHI Yasuko Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Director, 精神保健研究所・児童思春期精神保健部, 部長 (50132874)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1996 – 1998
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| Keywords | Developmental Disorders / Family Functioning / Acceptance of Handicap / Quality of Life |
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| Research Abstract |
In 1996, we interviewed fifty five families with mentally handicapped children to investigate stressful life events which they experienced as a consequence of having the children. Difficulties that the families felt differed as to types of children's disorders. For example, parents of Mongoloid became aware of their children's abnormality in the early time and then had hardship to recover from severe shock and disappointment. It was also difficult for them to rear their children who easily fell into serious illness. On the other hand, for a case of autism, families felt difficulties for coping with children's abnormal behaviors that occurred both in infancy and adolescence. The difficulties that the families commonly had were sibling relationships and shortage of resources such as a specific treatment, special education and consulting services.
In 1997 and 1998, we conducted further research regarding the relationships among life events, coping styles and quality of life by a questionnaire survey on 145 families with handicapped children. Mutual support in a family and appropriate aid from other people and professionals in a relevant field were strongly related to current feelings of satisfaction of daily life. The families who had continuously kept support systems are highly satisfied with their life. These results suggested it that a consistent support systems fit to a lifecycle of a family with handicapped child is an important factor for enhancing quality of family life.
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