Quality of life in adolescents with a disability and their parents: the mediating role of social support and resilience

The aim of this study was to test whether the effect of the pile-up of demands associated with a disability on quality of life, was mediated by resilience, quantity and quality of social support for adolescents with a disability and their parents. One hundred and thirty two parents, 90 mothers and 42 fathers and 111 adolescents, aged between 16 and 24 years completed measures of the pile-up of demands, social support, resilience and quality of life. Structural equation modeling with the bootstrap resampling method showed that the impact of the disability of their son/daughter on the quality of life of the parents was fully mediated through the parents' resilience and the quantity of social support and that resilience, however only partly, mediates the effect of adaptive skills on the quality of life of the adolescents with a disability. Limitations of the study and clinical implications are discussed

Interpersonal influence in families: development and psychometric evaluation of the influence in families questionnaire

The objective of this article was to develop and psychometrically evaluate a self-report instrument that would assess interpersonal influence in families. The Influence in Families Questionnaire (IFQ) was developed as a 16-item scale which assesses both positive and negative influence. The IFQ and its sub-scales, when administered to a sample of 581 adolescents and Young adults, showed high internal consistency and exhibited a promising pattern of convergent, divergent and criterion validity in relation to relevant criteria such as impact messages, family and attachment relationships and interpersonal sense of control. Overall, these results suggest that the IFQ is a useful instrument for measuring interpersonal influence within families

Intergenerational influence and quality of life: A study within families with a child with a disability

The aim of the present study was to investigate (a) how intergenerational influence takes form within families with a child with a disability, and (b) the extent to which positive and negative influence - as perceived by family members - within and across generations, is predictive of family members' subjective quality of life. The study involved 60 two-parent two-child families where one of the children had a disability. Within a round-robin design, family members completed self-report measures of felt influence within their family and subjective quality of life. The main findings suggest that interpersonal influence as perceived by parents and children (a) varies as a function of valence (positive vs. negative) and target (from whom the influence is felt); and (b) is related to subjective quality of life. However, there seem to be differential effects of the distinct dimensions of influence (positive vs. negative; intergenerational vs. intragenerational) depending on whose quality of life is examined.status: publishe

Intergenerational influence and quality of life : a study within families with a child with a disability

The aim of the present study was to investigate (a) how intergenerational influence takes form within families with a child with a disability, and (b) the extent to which positive and negative influence – as perceived by family members – within and across generations, is predictive of family members' subjective quality of life. The study involved 60 two-parent two-child families where one of the children had a disability. Within a round-robin design, family members completed self-report measures of felt influence within their family and subjective quality of life. The main findings suggest that interpersonal influence as perceived by parents and children (a) varies as a function of valence (positive vs. negative) and target (from whom the influence is felt); and (b) is related to subjective quality of life. However, there seem to be differential effects of the distinct dimensions of influence (positive vs. negative; intergenerational vs. intragenerational) depending on whose quality of life is examined