BJP College Seminars Series
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Psychiatric Bulletin Advances in Psychiatric Treatment All RCPsych Journals
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit an eLetter
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Tew, B. J.
Right arrow Articles by Rawnsley, K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Tew, B. J.
Right arrow Articles by Rawnsley, K.

The British Journal of Psychiatry 131: 79-82 (1977)
© 1977 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

Marital stability following the birth of a child with spina bifida

BJ Tew, KM Laurence, H Payne and K Rawnsley

The matrimonial stability of 142 families where a child with neural tube malformation (mostly spina bifida) was born between 1964 and 1966, including 56 families with a surviving spina bifida child, was examined in January 1976. The divorce rate for families with a surviving child was found to be nine times higher than that for the local population and three times higher than for families experiencing bereavement of their spina bifida child. Marriages which followed a pre-nuptial conception resulting in a spina bifida child were particularly vulnerable and had a divorce or separation risk of 50 per cent. All the divorced fathers had remarried, but only one of the mothers. It is concluded that a handicapped child adds greatly to the strain on a marriage, especially when this has not been cemented before the arrival of a child. This strain is diminished by the child's early death.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Journal of Early InterventionHome page
M. M. Bristol, N. C. Reichle, and D. D. Thomas
Changing Demographics of the American Family: Implications for Single-Parent Families of Young Handicapped Children
Journal of Early Intervention, January 1, 1987; 12(1): 56 - 69.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Journal of Early InterventionHome page
L. Dyson and R. R. Fewell
Stress and Adaptation in Parents of Young Handicapped and Nonhandicapped Children: A Comparative Study
Journal of Early Intervention, January 1, 1986; 10(1): 25 - 35.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 West J Nurs ResHome page
K. A. Knafl, A. M. Aamodt, J. E. Bowers, and B. Holaday
How Families Manage a Pediatric Hospitalization
West J Nurs Res, May 1, 1985; 7(2): 151 - 176.
[PDF]

Home page
 Journal of Early InterventionHome page
D. J. Meyer, P. F. Vadasy, R. R. Fewell, and G. Schell
Involving Fathers of Handicapped Infants: Translating Research into Program Goals
Journal of Early Intervention, January 1, 1982; 5(1): 64 - 72.
[Abstract] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Psychiatric Bulletin Advances in Psychiatric Treatment All RCPsych Journals
Copyright © 1977 The Royal College of Psychiatrists.