MARITAL QUALITY OF PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH SPINA-BIFIDA - A CASE-COMPARISON STUDY

The impact of childhood chronic illness on parents' marital quality ha s received limited attention. Most studies have relied solely on mothe rs' reports and have not examined differences between mothers and fath ers. Using a case-control design, this study compared the marital qual ity within and between dyads of 46 couples with children with spina bi fida and 46 couples with healthy children matched on the age and sex o f the child. During a home visit, parents completed both self-report m easures and a communication observational task. Mothers' and fathers' reports of marital quality did not differ between the two groups. Also , no significant differences were found on other marital and psychosoc ial measures. The most interesting correlations were observed for fath ers of children with spina bifida whose marital quality was associated with parenting stress (r = -.51), depression (r = -.34), and role str ain (r = -.34). Overall, the results of this study contribute to the g rowing body of literature demonstrating that parents of children with a chronic condition are at no greater risk for psychosocial dysfunctio n, including marital distress, than parents of healthy children. Howev er, to generalize the results, additional research,on marital quality with other chronic conditions is required.