PREDICTORS OF THE COPING BEHAVIOR OF MOTHERS OF HANDICAPPED-CHILDREN

Examined a large number of psychosocial and demographic variables (from the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress, Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale, the Psychological Well-Being Index, a social support scale, and a religiosity index) to determine which were the best predictors of the coping behavior of mothers of handicapped children. Ss were 98 mothers of children with a wide variety of handicapping conditions. A stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that marital satisfaction was the best overall predictor, accounting for 79% of the predictive ability. Other significant predictors were the child's residence and sex. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1979 American Psychological Association.