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Project Parenting was initially federally funded in 1987 at St. Mary's College of Maryland. For almost three decades, we have been studying stress and coping in families rearing children with, or at risk for, developmental disabilities. Until our work, much of the research studying families rearing children with disabilities had focused on pathology and maladjustment. However, many families with children with disabilities show excellent adjustment. Recognizing that some families can and do adjust very well to rearing a child with a disability, Project Parenting is attempting to identify characteristics of these families that contribute to good adjustment.
We are studying these characteristics by comparing families who have adopted a child with a disability to families who have had a child with a disability born to them. One of the most obvious differences between the two kinds of families is the conscious choice by the adoptive families to rear a child with special needs. Some of the other factors being studied include demographic characteristics such as marital status and family income, level of functioning of the child, prior experience with people with disabilities, and parental personality, coping styles, and religious beliefs. By identifying factors that might contribute to adjustment to rearing a child with disabilities, professionals can gain knowledge as to what types of interventions might work to help families having difficulties adjusting to their child with special needs. This knowledge can be useful to adoptive families both in pre- and post-adoption services and to birth families during and after diagnosis as well as later in the lifespan.
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