[Coping with a handicapped child]

The birth of a handicapped child is a non-normative event the mother has to come to terms with individually. It has been examined whether mothers who had contacts with the handicapped before the birth of their handicapped child had acquired qualifications to cope with this situation. A group of twelve mothers with specific experience was compared to a group of twelve mothers without any much experience, under consideration of control variables involved. Changes in the self-image, the mood and the choice of existence techniques were assessed in a longitudinal and a cross section survey over a period of seven years using standardized methods and a semistructured self report. Evaluation by non-parametric and variance analyses showed that women who disposed of experience data before the occurrence of the critical event coped with the new experience of being personally concerned with small identity restriction over a limited period of time. The social development of their children was significantly better. Though not showing any pathological reactions, women without any prior experience showed less confidence in their own possibilities, tended towards a rather anxious and depressive general mood, and confined themselves to a narrowed range of contact experiences. Learning by practical experience proved to be more helpful in the mastery of this non-normative event than information, the activating moment not being the novelty of the situation but the specific experiences made.