Religiosity, Spirituality, and Marital Relationships of Parents Raising a Typically Developing Child or a Child With a Disability

Authors

Tina M. Taylor, Brigham Young UniversityFollow
Jessica A. Parker, Brigham Young University
Barbara Mandleco, Brigham Young UniversityFollow
Susanne Olsen Roper, Brigham Young University
Donna Freeborn, Brigham Young University

Keywords

families experiencing disabilities, chronic illness, marital relationships, spirituality, religiosity, parents of children with disabilities, child-rearing families, quantitative research

Abstract

In order to discover if differences or relationships exist between religiosity, spirituality, and marital relationships, 111 parents raising a child with a disability (CWD) and 34 parents raising typically developing children independently completed self-report questionnaires assessing religiosity, spirituality, and marital relationships. Parents raising typically developing children scored higher on private and public religiosity and marital satisfaction than parents raising a CWD; mothers scored higher on religiosity variables than fathers. Mothers’ ratings of spirituality and family type (disability or typically developing child) predicted their ratings of marital conflict. Higher spirituality and raising typically developing children were associated with higher ratings of marital satisfaction for both mothers and fathers. However, spirituality also moderated the relationship between private/public religiosity and marital satisfaction only for fathers. This information helps improve interventions for families raising CWD and adds to the literature on the interplay of religiosity/spirituality/marital relationship.

Original Publication Citation

*Parker, J. A., Mandleco, B., Roper, S. O., Freeborn, D., & Dyches, T. T. (2011). Religiosity, spirituality, and marital relationships of parents raising a typically developing child or a child with a disability. Journal of Family Nursing, 17(1), 82-104. https://doi.org/10.1177/1074840710394856

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Taylor, Tina M.; Parker, Jessica A.; Mandleco, Barbara; Olsen Roper, Susanne; and Freeborn, Donna, "Religiosity, Spirituality, and Marital Relationships of Parents Raising a Typically Developing Child or a Child With a Disability" (2011). Faculty Publications. 7364.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/7364

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2011

Publisher

Sage Publications

Language

English

College

David O. McKay School of Education

Department

Counseling Psychology and Special Education

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

Copyright Status

© The Author(s) 2011

Copyright Use Information

https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/