The expression of affection and social interaction in families with young handicapped children

The purposes of this research were a) to describe differences in mothers' versus fathers' expressions of affection and social interaction to handicapped versus nonhandicapped children, b) to describe differences in mothers' versus fathers' expressions of affection and social interaction to handicapped children during three evening routines, c) to describe differences in children's reactions to affection versus social interaction, and d) to describe differences in children's reactions to mothers versus fathers.

In-home observations were conducted by nonparticipant observers on three occasions during the evening dinner routines in each of 11 families having a handicapped child 2-4 years of age and at least one nonhandicapped child. Parents' facial, verbal, and physical expressions of affection and their social interaction behavior to handicapped and nonhandicapped children, as well as children's reactions to parents' behavior, were recorded. Multivariate methods were used to analyze the data.

The results indicated that mothers and fathers behaved differently to handicapped and nonhandicapped children. Mothers expressed more affectionate words and exhibited more social interaction to handicapped children than did fathers. Also, mothers expressed more of all types of behavior, and fathers expressed more active and passive affectionate physical contact to handicapped children than to nonhandicapped children. Passive and active affectionate physical contact occurred least frequently during the dinner routine. Handicapped children were less responsive to affection and social interaction than were nonhandicapped children and were less responsive to social interaction than to affection. Handicapped children responded more frequently with positive reactions and less frequently with negative reactions to fathers than to mothers.

Implications include the need for further research concerning the role of affection in the development of handicapped children and the role of setting events in the expression of affection during family interactions. Also, there is a need for further consideration of the nature of affectionate interactions between nonhandicapped children, their handicapped siblings, and their parents.