Family functioning in families with older institutionalized retarded offspring

Psychological distress, marital satisfaction, family adaptability, and cohesion are explored in 31 families with mentally retarded (MR) institutionalized offspring (late adolescence and young adulthood) and 38 comparison families. Multivariate analyses indicate no differences between the groups, although univariate analyses point to higher levels of cohesion in the families with MR offspring and the importance of the construct of adaptability in understanding family functioning. The results are discussed in terms of the adaptive coping mechanisms of the families with MR offspring and the implications of this for intervention, research, and policy.