Stress levels in families with intellectually handicapped preschool children and families with nonhandicapped preschool children.

Family stress levels were examined using the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (QRS) in 42 New Zealand families with preschool intellectually handicapped (moderately and severely retarded) children and 42 families with nonhandicapped preschool children. Maternal age was employed as a blocking factor (less than 30 years versus 30 years and above). The families with intellectually handicapped children showed significantly higher stress levels on 13 of the 15 QRS scales, but maternal age did not appear to be implicated in family stress levels. The results suggest that stress levels are somewhat elevated in families with preschool children, the tendency being particularly marked in families with intellectually handicapped children. The implications of these findings for family intervention and support programmes are considered, together with the need for research into the various ecological contexts of the individual, family, peer group and social institutions, as well as of the interactions within and between these contexts as mediators of coping resources in families with intellectually handicapped children.