Reactions of black, Hispanic, and white mothers to having a child with handicaps.

Black, Hispanic, and white mothers (N = 60) of young children with disabilities were interviewed to explore their feelings and reactions to their child. Trends reveal that Hispanic mothers reported an attitude of self-sacrifice toward the child and greater spousal denial of the disability more often than did the other mothers. Stages of reaction from strong negative feelings to later periods of adjustment were most often reported by both Hispanic and white subjects. Although severity of retardation was not predictive of parental reporting of stages, parents of children who received a diagnosis within a month of birth were more likely to report subsequent adjustment stages.