Table 1.
Sample Characteristics by Family Type
| DD | SMI | Comparison | Group Differencea | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M (SD), % | M (SD), % | M (SD), % | |||
| (n = 134) | (n = 308) | (n = 5,642) | |||
| Parent-level covariates | |||||
| Age | 71.1 (4.6) | 70.5 (3.9) | 70.8 (3.9) | 13 (2) | |
| Gender (1 = mother) | 49% | 63% | 53% | 12.2 (2)** | (b > c) |
| Education | 13.9 (2.7) | 14.2 (2.5) | 13.7 (2.4) | 6.4 (2)** | (b > c) |
| Marital status (1 = currently married) | 76% | 67% | 77% | 18.96 (2)*** | (b < c) |
| Number of children alive | 3.8 (1.9) | 3.6 (1.4) | 3.3 (1.4) | 14.6 (2)*** | (a, b > c) |
| Ever diagnosed as MI (1 = yes) | 5% | 11% | 3% | 68.0 (2)*** | (b > c) |
| Has ADLs limitations (1 = yes) | 15% | 15% | 9% | 14.7 (2)** | (a, b > c) |
| Parental well-being | |||||
| Depressive symptoms | 8.3 (6.9) | 9.5 (8.8) | 7.9 (7.3) | 6.43 (2)** | (b > c) |
| Psychological wellbeing | 89.6 (13.4) | 89.5 (13.4) | 91.1 (12.4) | 3.11 (2)* | (b < c) |
| SF-12 mental health | 55.4 (7.6) | 54.1 (8.2) | 56.1 (6.6) | 11.94 (2)*** | (b < c) |
| Self-rated health | 3.5 (1.0) | 3.5 (1.0) | 3.7 (0.9) | 6.68 (2)** | (b < c) |
| Number of physical symptoms | 5.5 (3.4) | 5.8 (3.5) | 5.0 (3.5) | 10.1 (2)*** | (b > c) |
| SF-12 physical health | 44.3 (11.3) | 44.8 (11.5) | 46.7 (10.5) | 6.93 (2)** | (a, b < c) |
| (n = 335) | (n = 726) | (n = 17,399) | |||
| Child-level covariates | |||||
| Age | 43.5 (7.6) | 43.8 (6.3) | 43.8 (6.4) | 0.4 (2) | |
| Gender (1 = daughter) | 50% | 52% | 49% | 15 (2) | |
| Relationship to parent (1 = biological) | 91% | 93% | 97% | 49.8 (2)*** | (a, b < c) |
| Marital status (1 = married) | 68% | 67% | 72% | 7.5 (2)* | (b < c) |
| Parental status (1 = yes) | 80% | 75% | 77% | 3.2 (2) | |
| Work status (1 = currently working) | 90% | 85% | 90% | 20.9 (2)*** | (b < c) |
| Education (1 = ever attended college) | 57% | 66% | 67% | 12.7 (2)** | (a < c) |
| Geographical proximity | 4.7 (2.1) | 4.7 (2.1) | 4.6 (2.0) | 3.1 (2)* | |
| Parent-child ambivalence | |||||
| Ambivalence | 1.7 (1.0) | 1.7 (1.1) | 1.6 (1.0) | 8.85 (2)*** | (b > c) |
DD = Developmental Disabilities; SMI = Serious Mental Illness; MI = Mental Illness; ADL = Activities of Daily Living
Note.
a
Differences of families of an adult child with DD or SMI from comparison group families are noted when the overall three-group differences were significant at p < .05; (a) represents DD, (b) represents SMI, and (c) represents comparison group.
*
p<.05,
**
p<.01,
***
p<.001