Having Another Child without Intellectual Disabilities: Comparing Mothers of a Single Child with Disability and Mothers of Multiple Children with and without Disability

SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://sagepub.com

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17

Mothers; Comparative Analysis; Predictor Variables; Disabilities; Intellectual Disability; Mental Health; Family Size; Social Capital; Psychological Patterns; Foreign Countries; Decision Making; Barriers; Parent Child Relationship; Mother Attitudes; Children; Participant Characteristics

10.1177/1744629517749129

1744-6295

To investigate how having a child without a disability is related to maternal mental health and its predictors, we compared mothers of a single child with intellectual disabilities (single-child group, n = 117) and mothers of children with and without intellectual disabilities (multiple-children group, n = 457), in Japan. Compared to the multiple-children group, the single-child group had lower hope and social capital and poorer mental health; furthermore, 42.5% of them had decided not to have another child, despite desiring one. Hope was the strongest predictor of mental health in both groups but was more positively related to mental health in the multiple-children group. The fear of the possibility of the next child having a disability and receiving inadequate support were the obstacles for mothers who had decided not to have another child. Thus, greater support and more opportunities for obtaining adequate information about the implications of having another child may be needed.

As Provided

2019

EJ1217008