Adaptation of parents in relation to their 6-month-old infant's type of disability

The adaptation of parents to a disabled infant was studied in relation to t he type of disability presented by the baby. Participants were divided acco rding to three types of disability and one control group: parents of infant s with (1) Down's syndrome (DS), (2) congenital heart disease (CHD), (3) a cleft lip and/or palate (CLP), and (4) no disability (ND), The data were co llected using a self-administered questionnaire given to each parent 6 mont hs after the birth of their baby, The measures included parenting stress, s tress appraisal, and psychological distress, Overall, the results indicate that parents of infants with DS and parents of infants with CHD report grea ter levels of parenting stress and psychological distress than parents of b abies with CLP or non-disabled infants, Mothers were found to report greate r levels of stress and distress overall, but differences across diagnostic groups were similar for mothers and fathers, The implications of the findin gs for theory and clinical intervention are discussed.