Personality, behavior, values, and family relations of children of fathers with spinal cord injury.
Many opinions have been expressed about the adverse effects on children of being raised by a parent who is physically disabled, but little research has been done. The present study examined the relationship between spinal cord injury (SCI) in fathers and the subsequent adjustment patterns of their children. Two groups of adult children were studied: 45 children reared from early age by fathers with SCI and a matched control group of 36 children with able-bodied fathers. The 2 groups were compared on psychologic tests assessing areas speculated in the literature to be influenced by parental disability. Although children of fathers with SCI differed from children with able-bodied fathers in some behaviors, values, and attitudes, the data failed to confirm any of the hypothesized relations between parental disability and child development. Children whose fathers had SCI were well-adjusted, emotionally stable persons who had attained normal sex role identities. Health patterns, body image, recreational interests, interpersonal relationships, and family relations were not found to be adversely associated with the disability status of the father. Limitations of the study and implications for rehabilitation, adoption, and court custody issues are discussed.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D001828:Body Image; D002652:Child Behavior; D002657:Child Development; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012737:Sex Factors; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000523:psychology*