Child involvement and stress in Greek mothers of deaf children.

Forty-two mothers of Greek deaf children reported their level of stress, availability of support, duration and frequency of involvement with their children, and affective tone of involvement, using an adaptation of Hill's ABCX model of stress and support (1949). Data on the interaction among six caregiving categories were collected over a 2-day period. Mothers of younger children and of boys, as well as mothers reporting greater stress, had longer and more frequent involvement. Mothers with greater stress were also more likely to rate the affective tone of their involvement as more neutral or as chorelike. Support availability was unrelated to involvement, with the exception of supporting neighbors. Compared to Canadian mothers of children both with and without disabilities, exposed to the same study protocol, the mothers in the present study were not more stressed. However, they were more likely to report a negative affective tone in their caregiving.

Teachers of the deaf as compared with other groups of teachers. Attitudes toward people with disabilities and inclusion.

This study examines and compares the attitudes toward disability and inclusion of three groups of teachers working in different placements. 290 teachers, working in different placements in two large geographical areas participated in the study. The attitudes of these teachers toward people with disabilities were evaluated using the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons original scale. The teachers' attitudes toward inclusion were examined using a Likert-like scale constructed by the authors. Results revealed that attitudes of teachers varied depending on their placement. Teachers of the deaf had a more favorable attitude than the other groups of teachers toward people with disabilities, but their attitude toward integration was the most negative. Attitudes of regular and special education teachers toward school integration can be explained by their attitudes toward disability, but for the teachers of the deaf, attitudes toward school inclusion are not related to attitudes toward people with disabilities.

Stress in Greek mothers with deaf children. Effects of child characteristics, family resources and cognitive set.

In an effort to understand the impact of their children's deafness on Greek mothers, demographic, disability-related and stress characteristics were examined with 42 hearing mothers and their deaf children. The work was based on Hill's ABCX model and Bronfenbrenner's social ecology model, entailing a microsystem, mesosystem, ecosystem, and macrosystem. In addition to child history obtained from school records, Rotter's locus of control scale, Coopersmith's self-esteem inventory and the Clarke questionnaire on resources and stress were given to mothers. Onset of deafness before 18 months of age was associated with greater maternal stress. A tendency for mothers of younger children to report more stress was evident. The mothers mainly had an external locus of control, attributing events to outside agents beyond their control. Self-esteem proved the best predictor of stress, with a low-esteem associated with greater reported stress. The findings are discussed with reference to disability-related and cultural factors.