title: Social support provided to caregivers of children with cerebral palsy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the perception of caregivers of children with cerebral palsy (CP) concerning social support received and to verify how the characteristics of the children (i.e. type of CP and severity of motor impairment) and those of their caregivers (i.e. age, level of education, occupation, income and number of children) are significantly related to this perception.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 50 children with CP aged between 3 and 12 years and their respective caregivers participated in this study. Children were grouped in terms of type of CP and according to the severity of motor impairment through the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). The Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ) was used to evaluate the perception of caregivers concerning the social support they receive (number of people offering support - SSQ-N index, and level of satisfaction concerning such support - SSQ-S index).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The caregivers reported receiving support from a mean of 1.67 people. Core and extended family members (i.e. husband, mother, siblings) and friends are the most common providers of support. In regard to level of satisfaction, caregivers considered the support they received to be positive, obtaining a mean of 5.52 out of a total of six points. Children's and caregivers' characteristics were not significantly related to the SSQ-N and SSQ-S indexes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Family members are the caregivers' primary source of social support and caregivers reported being satisfied with the support they received.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Occupational Therapy, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, S.P., Brazil.
authors.forename: L I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Pfeifer
authors.forename: D B R
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Matsukura
authors.forename: J L F
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: M P P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Pinto
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001938:Brazil; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000451:nursing*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011594:Psychometrics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: caregivers; children with cerebral palsy; family; satisfaction with support; social support