The social-emotional wellbeing of children of mothers with intellectual impairment and their peers
Access status:
USyd Access
Type
ThesisThesis type
Doctor of PhilosophyAuthor/s
Hindmarsh, GabrielleAbstract
It has been well documented for at least 70 years that families headed by parents with intellectual impairment experience multiple disadvantages. These families are often isolated with significantly strained socio-economic resources and limited social support and networks. Compared ...
See moreIt has been well documented for at least 70 years that families headed by parents with intellectual impairment experience multiple disadvantages. These families are often isolated with significantly strained socio-economic resources and limited social support and networks. Compared to other parents, parents with intellectual impairment have higher rates of unemployment, poorer health, and fewer stable relationships. These contextual factors are known to influence child outcomes for other parents. Children of parents with intellectual impairment have been thought to have poorer developmental outcomes than their peers due to the impairment of their parent/s. Currently, the findings from studies on the outcomes of children of parents with intellectual impairment are mixed. This is not surprising given the methodological limitations of many studies. The overall purpose of this doctoral study was to examine the contextual factors which influence children’s social-emotional wellbeing outcomes and to do so utilising a large representative population survey. The study employed an ecological theoretical framework to examine context by individual, family and environmental domains. The findings from this study support previous studies and show children of mothers with intellectual impairment show poorer social-emotional wellbeing during the pre- and early school years compared to children who do not have a mother with intellectual impairment. However, consistent with other studies which utilise population data for people with intellectual impairment and adjust for various factors in the family and/or environmental domains, the risk of poorer child social-emotional wellbeing outcomes is decreased or eliminated. This indicates that poorer social-emotional wellbeing outcomes for children of mothers with intellectual impairment could possibly be attributed to poorer living conditions rather than their mothers’ intellectual impairment.
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See moreIt has been well documented for at least 70 years that families headed by parents with intellectual impairment experience multiple disadvantages. These families are often isolated with significantly strained socio-economic resources and limited social support and networks. Compared to other parents, parents with intellectual impairment have higher rates of unemployment, poorer health, and fewer stable relationships. These contextual factors are known to influence child outcomes for other parents. Children of parents with intellectual impairment have been thought to have poorer developmental outcomes than their peers due to the impairment of their parent/s. Currently, the findings from studies on the outcomes of children of parents with intellectual impairment are mixed. This is not surprising given the methodological limitations of many studies. The overall purpose of this doctoral study was to examine the contextual factors which influence children’s social-emotional wellbeing outcomes and to do so utilising a large representative population survey. The study employed an ecological theoretical framework to examine context by individual, family and environmental domains. The findings from this study support previous studies and show children of mothers with intellectual impairment show poorer social-emotional wellbeing during the pre- and early school years compared to children who do not have a mother with intellectual impairment. However, consistent with other studies which utilise population data for people with intellectual impairment and adjust for various factors in the family and/or environmental domains, the risk of poorer child social-emotional wellbeing outcomes is decreased or eliminated. This indicates that poorer social-emotional wellbeing outcomes for children of mothers with intellectual impairment could possibly be attributed to poorer living conditions rather than their mothers’ intellectual impairment.
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Date
2017-02-02Licence
The author retains copyright of this thesis. It may only be used for the purposes of research and study. It must not be used for any other purposes and may not be transmitted or shared with others without prior permission.Faculty/School
Faculty of Health SciencesAwarding institution
The University of SydneyShare