Perceptions of services and resources as mediators of depression among parents of children with developmental...

Path analysis was used to test the effects of resource perceptions and respite use in a theoretical model of parental adaptation to children with disabilities The amount and quality of respite indirectly affected parental depression via parent's perceptions of the adequacy of baby sitting and the time the parent had for herself or himself. Both quality and respite use were related to the helpfulness of the parent's social network. The strongest predictor of depression was the parent's perception of time resources, which was influenced by the amount of care the child required, the adequacy of money, and baby sitting resources.