Family functioning in Thai families having children with down syndrome and its influencing factors

Abstract

Families of preschool children with Down syndrome (DS) face a number of challenges and demands from Down syndrome itself and normative transition during this age group. As a result, the family members, in particular the mothers as primary caregivers, experience pile-ups of stress that adversely affect the family functioning. The purpose of the current study was to examine the pattern of relationships among family demands, family hardiness, social support, family problem solving and coping, and family functioning in families of children with Down syndrome. A cross-sectional study based on the resiliency model of family stress, adjustment and adaptation with the use of convenience and network sampling techniques were employed. One hundred and twenty mothers as primary caregivers were recruited at Siriraj Hospital, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, and Rajanukul Institute. Self-administered questionnaires including demographic questionnaire, the Family Stressors and Strains Questionnaire, the Family Hardiness Index, the Social Support Questionnaire, the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales, and the Chulalongkom Family Inventory were used for data collection. The descriptive statistics and path analysis were used for data analysis. The results revealed that family demands, family hardiness, and social support had direct effects on family functioning. Neither family hardiness nor social support had indirect effects on family functioning through family problem solving and coping. The proposed model of the current study presented a good fit to the empirical data and explained 47 percent of variance in family functioning. The study findings suggest that pediatric nurses should develop further intervention/program to serve this population by strengthening and equipping them with the essential skills to reduce stress and strains, and keep balancing of family functioning.