ABSTRACT

Objective : The purpose of this study was, by a comparison of child-rearing attitudes and sensory processing between general mothers and mothers with disabled children, to study the problems faced by mothers with disabled children and relativities in terms of child-rearing attitudes and sensory processing.Methods : Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (ASP) for general mothers(20) and mothers with disabled children(20) and a Maternal Behavior Research Instrument (MBRI) were used. It took 25 minutes to complete the two research forms, and was conducted in September 2007, over two month. Child-rearing attitudes and sensory processing mean scores were analyzed and a Pearson's correlation analysis was used to conduct the statistical calculations.Results : As a comparison of child-rearing attitudes, general mothers were, on average, more positive than mothers with disabled children (p<.05). Most mothers of disabled children were found to have less affectionate, self-regulating, and rejecting attitudes. Mothers with disabled children were found to have low grades of sensory processing, especially in terms of active behavior of the 'Sensation Seeking' area. Both affectionate and self-regulating qualities were correlated with the four area of sensory processing: 'Low Registration', 'Sensation Seeking', 'Sensory Sensitivity', and 'Sensation Avoiding' (p<.05).Conclusion : Many problems relating to attitude in mothers with disabled children were examined in this study. In addition, mothers with registration, sensitiveness, and active responses to stimulation expressed more affectionate and self-regulating attitudes toward their children. In the following study, numerous factors affecting child-rearing attitudes are outlined in detail.