Coping and stress in Canadian family caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injuries.

The purpose of this study was to document the stresses reported by Canadian caregivers of persons with brain injuries and to consider the factors which serve to mediate or moderate such stress. Highest stress scores on the Holroyd Questionnaire on Resources and Stress-Short Form (QRS) were associated with Lifespan Care and Personal Burden. Although overall burden as reported on the QRS by parents and spouses did not differ from other studies, it did differ somewhat for specific types of burden. Social Support and Spiritual Support, as measured by the F-COPES, fell within the medium use category, and scores for Reframing, Mobilizing and Passive Appraisal fell within the high use category. In multiple regression analyses, client competency as measured by the Patient Competency Rating Scale emerged as a major predictor of stress associated with Cognitive Impairment, Physical Limitations, Lifespan Care, Terminal Illness Stress, Limits on Family Opportunities, and Personal Burden. In contrast, other client characteristics (e.g. Time Since Injury) accounted for relatively little variance. The results also indicate that both Refraining and Seeking Spiritual Support as coping strategies can make an important contribution to stress reduction.

Attitudes of primary school children toward the physical appearance and labels associated with Down syndrome.

Attitudes of 80 kindergarten and 80 third-grade subjects responding to videotape excerpts of children either with or without Down syndrome and with or without the label and description "mentally retarded" were examined and affect, belief endorsements, and behavioral intentions were assessed. Multivariate analyses of variance indicated that subjects were significantly less positive in their affective evaluations and belief endorsements toward target children labeled and described as mentally retarded. Third-grade children were significantly more negative in their affective responses toward children with Down syndrome, and kindergarten children were more positive in their evaluations of such children. Possible reasons for the lack of significant gender and contact differences were discussed.