International research indicates that children with disabilities are more exposed to negative parenting than their non-disabled peers. The mechanisms behind this increased risk are likely operating at the levels of the individual child, the family and the broader social context. The present study investigated harsh parenting practices using…

This booklet reports the findings of a study that focused on the well-being and lifestyle of 479 families of children (ages 2-17) with Down syndrome (DS) in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. A comparative study of families of typical children in the Nordic countries was also done. The results of the study indicate that bringing up a…

The paper describes the conflict between parental responsibility for a handicapped child, particularly a retarded child, and the parents' other interests and concerns. Swedish parents (N=60) of retarded children were interviewed once and three families were interviewed several times over a 6-month period. Parents typically went through a period of…

This report is the second to appear in a series of studies carried out by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) during the past 5 years. The first report concerned the integration of handicapped young people into ordinary schools. The present report deals with what happens…