Parents of children with and without intellectual disability: couple relationship and individual well-being

Background Research on parents of children with intellectual disability (ID) has identified a range of risk and protective factors for parental well-being. In family research, the association between marital quality and depression is a vital field of investigation. Still little research has addressed how aspects of the couple relationship affect the adaptation of parents of children with ID. The present study examined predictive links between couple relationship factors (marital quality and coparenting quality) and individual well-being. Methods Data were obtained through self-report questionnaires completed by parents of children with ID (mothers, n=58; and fathers, n=46) and control children (mothers, n=178; and fathers, n=141). To test the hypothesis that couple relationship factors predicted individual well-being, multiple regression analyses were performed controlling for the following risk factors identified by previous research: child self-injury/stereotypic behaviour, parenting stress, and economic risk. Results Marital quality predicted concurrent well-being, and coparenting quality predicted prospective well-being. Mothers of children with ID reported lower well-being than other parents. Conclusions There is a continued need for investigation of the details of the links between couple relationship and individual well-being in parents of children with ID. Couple relationship factors should be given consideration in clinical interventions.