Parents of children with developmental disorders: Family hardiness and resilience

Background: Raising a child with developmental disorder is often related to higher stress levels for both mothers and fathers. The aim of the present study was to investigate relationships between resilience, family hardiness, life satisfaction and parental stress among parents of children with and without disabilities. Method: Twenty-eight pairs of parents of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder, 15 of a child with Down Syndrome and 25 of a child without disability took part in the study. All parents completed four questionnaires independently. Results: Significant differences between groups emerged in parental resilience, stress, and life satisfaction. Correlational analyses showed that parental hardiness and resilience were negatively related to parental stress through all the three groups. Conclusions: These findings point to increased evidence that the presence of a disability may not directly affect the sense of family hardiness. Practical implications were discussed.