Famílias de adolescentes com deficiência intelectual: estresse, estratégias de enfrentamento e apoio social

Abstract

The importance of family relations is evident in families of people with deficiency, once the born of a children with this characteristic provides an unexpected experience and important changes in family dynamics. The literature points that parents of people with intellectual disability tend to show more stress symptoms. The development of coping strategy and social support assist in the adaptation of these families to stressful circunstances. With the objective of verifying the level of stress, coping style and satisfaction with social support in families of adolescents with Down syndrome, this study counted with the participation of four families, two from Juiz de Fora-MG and two from Caxambu- MG. The families were compounded with father, mother and one daughter with Down syndrome, with age between 14 and 20 years old. The results pointed that mothers exhibit more stress symptoms than fathers, any father exhibit this symptom. The coping strategy apparently more used by parents was escape- avoidance and less strategies used were acceptance of responsability (mothers) and confrotation (fathers). The spouse, the children, the friends and the professinals who attended the Down’s syndrome adolescents were pointed like main components of social’s support families. Data from this study support the literature with regard to higher levels of stress in mothers than in fathers of people with intellectual disabilitie.