# ADOPTING RETARDED CHILDREN--FAMILY STRESS AND COPING

> **NIH NIH R01** · ST. MARY'S COLLEGE OF MARYLAND · 1994 · $141,539

## Abstract

The proposed research will examine families who have adopted children
with, or at risk for developmental disabilities, and will compare them on
current family functioning with matched birth families.  The broadest aim
is to track adjustment over time, delineating the variables at one time
measurement that are predictive of functioning at a later time
measurement.  Of particular interest are parental personality and
religiosity, and their relationship to coping strategies.  Using
interviews, summative and contextualized self-reports, and peer ratings,
this project will test a model that predicts that parental personality
and religiosity along with child characteristics, influence initial
adjustment to a child with disabilities, and both directly and indirectly
through earlier adjustment, coping strategies, and parenting daily
environment also influence long-term adjustment.  Specific aims are as
follows: (1) To determine whether the initial differences in functioning
between adoptive and birth families and between families within each of
those samples, continue over the long-term, and to identify what
variables are related to those differences; (2) To explore the
relationships between and among the five global factors of parental
personality, religiosity, coping strategies, and daily parenting
environment; (3) To assess the relationship between microanalytic
measures of well-being, coping, and hassles, with summative,
macroanalytic measures; and (4) To identify relevant child
characteristics, including level of functioning, diagnosis, and
behavioral characteristics, that influence family adjustment.  This
research has important health consequences for identifying families at
risk for later dysfunction, thus enabling the implementation of
appropriate interventions, and facilitating primary, secondary, and
tertiary prevention efforts.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2198402
- **Project number:** 5R01HD021993-06
- **Recipient organization:** ST. MARY'S COLLEGE OF MARYLAND
- **SAM.gov UEI:** UFQ5LT1SLK61
- **Principal Investigator:** LARAINE M GLIDDEN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1994
- **Award amount:** $141,539
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1987-09-01 → 1997-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2198402

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2198402, ADOPTING RETARDED CHILDREN--FAMILY STRESS AND COPING (5R01HD021993-06). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2198402. Licensed CC0.

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