Partner Support and Maternal Stress in Families Raising Young Children with Cerebral Palsy

Partner support and its relation to maternal stress was examined in families raising children with cerebral palsy (CP). Subjects were 59 Caucasian and 5 African American families raising 41 boys and 23 girls (8–54 months old) with mild or severe CP, or nonimpaired controls. Parents were interviewed; mothers completed the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form and Dunst Social Support Scales. Partners raising children with severe CP provided more primary care in the evening and were credited by mothers as being more supportive overall than partners in moderate CP and comparison groups. No relation was found between maternal stress and partner support; child's level of impairment and the interaction between partner support and child impairment were significant predictors of maternal stress. Findings suggest a systems-oriented examination of partner support in which families differ with respect to specific functions while exhibiting overall organizational similarities.