The present study used quantitative and qualitative methodology to examine mothers’ hope and worry. Participants were recruited via autism and Down syndrome organizations. Two hundred fifty-nine mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders (n = 199) and Down syndrome (n = 60) responded to the online questionnaire. Most mothers were white (n = 230); eighty-seven percent were married and their average age was 39.06 years. Findings support previous research suggesting that hope is a protective factor against psychological distress: mothers with higher hope reported lower dispositional worry. Mothers were asked to describe what they worried about when they woke up at night; a thematic analysis of their responses resulted in identification of a number of self-focused and child and family-focused concerns. Results suggest that maternal level of education as well as child’s age, diagnosis and severity of impairment may impact mother’s level of hope and worry.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:vcu.edu/oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-3052 |
| Date | 15 January 2010 |
| Creators | Ogston, Paula |
| Publisher | VCU Scholars Compass |
| Source Sets | Virginia Commonwealth University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | © The Author |
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