Resumen

ALBUQUERQUE, Sara; PEREIRA, Marco; FONSECA, Ana  y  CANAVARRO, Maria Cristina. Qualidade de vida e sintomatologia psicopatológica em pais de crianças com diagnóstico de deficiência/anomalia congénita: A importância das características de resiliência. Aná. Psicológica [online]. 2013, vol.31, n.2, pp.171-184. ISSN 0870-8231.

The purpose of the current study was to assess the parental adaptation, in terms of psychopathological symptoms and quality of life (QoL) and to examine the influence of parent’s resilience characteristics in their adaptation, as well as in their partner’s adaptation. The sample was constituted by 90 parents (45 couples) whose child had a diagnosed disability/CA. The assessment protocol included the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument (WHOQOL-Bref). Results showed that mothers reported significantly higher scores on anxiety (p<.01) and overall emotional distress (p<.01), and lower scores on psychological QoL (p<.05). Mothers also presented higher levels of resilience, particularly family cohesion (p<.05). In both parents, resilience was associated with lower scores of psychopathological symptoms and higher scores of QoL. Findings also showed that maternal resilience was not significantly associated with the paternal adaptation; however, it was observed that higher levels of paternal resilience were significantly associated with better maternal adaptation, particularly, lower psychopathological symptoms and higher scores in QoL. Findings from this study highlight the protective role of resilience in the parental adaptation to the diagnosis of a congenital anomaly in the child. Additionally, these findings emphasize the need to assess and promote parent’s resources. Lastly, it emphasizes the need of assessing the couple as a unit of analysis and the potential cross-over effects when designing a therapeutic intervention, reinforcing the role of the couple relationship and the interpersonal context in which this matter occurs.

Palabras clave : Disability; Psychopathological symptoms; Quality of life; Resilience.

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