# ADOLESCENTS WITH HANDICAPS--LIFESPAN & CULTURAL CONCERNS

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE · 1994 · $153,899

## Abstract

The proposed study focuses on two main samples.  The first and
primary focus is on the longitudinal sample of families who entered the
study in 1982-93.  At that time, these families had a child with severe
handicaps between the ages of 3 and 8.  We have studied the impact of a
child with severe handicaps on the family for 3/4 of a decade.  About a
quarter of the original sample has placed their child out-of-home.  The
remaining families now face a potential two-fold crisis--the onset of
adolescence and a shift in the life-cycle of the family.  While the
majority of the 68 families who still have the child with severe
handicaps at home have demonstrated the determination to keep their child
at home up until now. they face two new challenges to their caregiving
over the next five years that will greatly influence their plans for
placement.  One is the size of the child, and the ensuing physical care
demands on parents; the other is increasing recognition that the child's
nonhandicapped peers will soon be moving out of their homes (either to
college or to live on their own).  Placement at this time (i.e., between
the ages of 13 and 18) may thus be seen as more normative, and
consequently more likely for some of these families.
     A second focus over the next five years will be to expand our study
beyond a primarily white, middle-class population to the population that
will dominate Los Angeles by the year 2000--Hispanic families.  In
Southern California we are in a unique position to study the impact of a
handicapped child on the Hispanic family.  Furthermore, we are able to
assess such impact in families where parents are bilingual as well as in
families where parents are monolingual Spanish-speaking.
     A third focus, though more minor effort, will be comprised of a
collaboration with investigators examining some identical constructs
in-families representing yet another stage of the lifespan--aging
caregivers of adult mentally retarded offspring.  We aim to look across
samples, and within combined samples as appropriate, at the following:
dimensions of family environments; content of social support networks;
relationship of social support networks to other aspects of coping; and
factors influencing out-of-home placement at different points of the
lifespan.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2198210
- **Project number:** 5R01HD021324-08
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE
- **SAM.gov UEI:** MR5QC5FCAVH5
- **Principal Investigator:** JANET B. BLACHER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1994
- **Award amount:** $153,899
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1986-12-01 → 1997-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2198210

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2198210, ADOLESCENTS WITH HANDICAPS--LIFESPAN & CULTURAL CONCERNS (5R01HD021324-08). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2198210. Licensed CC0.

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