Work-family balance and satisfaction with roles in parents of disabled children

ABSTRACT

It is currently believed that functioning in family and professional roles can bring negative and positive experiences, indicating the development of competences useful in both areas. How these areas interact may indicate a particular type of balance achieved by the individual. Work-family balance is relatively well recognized in parents of non-disabled children, but to a lesser extent, in parents of disabled children. The article presents the results of the author's own research aimed at determining types of work-family interactions based on the results of conflict and enrichment in parents of disabled children and analyzing the influence of sociodemographic variables, characteristics of the child, parental satisfaction, and job satisfaction. 188 Polish mothers and fathers of children with selected types of disabilities participated in the study. Measures used: Work-Family Enrichment Scale by Carlson et al., The Work-Family Conflict Scale by Matthews et al., The Scale of Parenting Experiences (own construction), and The Work Satisfaction Scale by Zalewska. Four types were found: unbalanced parents experiencing strong conflict and poor enrichment; parents separating family and professional life (low conflict and enrichment); the blurred type with high conflict and enrichment; and balanced parents experiencing low conflict and high enrichment.

KEYWORDS:

• parents
• disabled child
• work-family conflict
• work-family enrichment
• work-family balance
• clusters

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Poviat team is an institution that deals with disability certificates in Poland.

2 I thank the reviewer for this remark.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Monika Parchomiuk

Monika Parchomiuk, Associate Professor at the Institute of Pedagogy at the Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University. Author of 9 monographs and over 130 articles in special pedagogy and pedagogy. Research interests: family of persons with disabilities, problems of functioning in the professional and family roles of parents with a child with a disability, sexuality of persons with intellectual disabilities, adulthood and aging of persons with intellectual disabilities.