DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY: ARE MOTHERS AND FATHERS
SATISFIED?
Y. Barak-Levy, N. Atzaba Poria
Raising children with disabilities requires high parental involvement
and intense child care. The role of fathers in families of children with
Developmental Delay (DD) has been understudied, with only few
studies suggesting lower levels of involvement in care of children for
fathers than mothers. The current study focuses on parental role
division in families of children with DD as reported by both parents, as
well as their satisfaction from these divisions. One hundred and ten
(60 DD and 50 control) parents of children, aged 4-7, participated in
the study. Mothers and fathers were interviewed on their current as
well as desirable role division in child care. Preliminary analyses
indicated that mothers in both groups reported higher levels of
involvement than fathers (F(1,53)=9.73, p<0.01). In addition, fathers in
the DD group reported having a more traditional role division than
fathers in the control group (F(1,53)=3.23, p<0.08). Moreover, mothers
of children with DD reported the highest levels of involvement in child
care than all other groups (F(1,53)=3.95, p<0.05). Finally, the
examination of the gap between current and desirable role division in
child care revealed that mothers in both groups were unsatisfied with
the existing role division (F(1,53)=33.73, p<0.001), and wanted a more
egalitarian distribution, whereas fathers were content with the current
situation. Findings indicate that mothers of children with DD bear most
of the burden of caring for these children, yet desire more paternal
involvement. Intervention programs should focus on the well being of
mothers and on the importance of co-parenting.
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