Abstract
The Holroyd (1974) Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (QRS) although clinically useful may be too inclusive and not exclusively relevant to severely dysfunctional individuals. Hitherto, efforts at shortening and psychometrically validating the QRS have met with some success: the shorter forms however still target both mentally and physically handicapped children and are clinically not as useful as the original instrument. The 78-item Clarke modification of the QRS, mainly a subset of the original, was an attempt to remedy these problems. It was validated with mothers and fathers of autistic, mentally retarded, learning-disabled, and asymptomatic children. Good internal consistency, split-half reliability, and coefficient of stability were obtained. Construct and concurrent validities were also acceptable. The questionnaire discriminated best between the two more severely affected groups and the controls. Group differences were found for 8 of its 9 scales and sex of parent differences were found for 3. The Clarke modification of the QRS is recommended for clinical use with parents of children with autism and mental retardation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association (1980).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Bebko, J., Konstantareas, M. M., & Springer, J. (1987). Parent and professional evaluations of family stress associated with characteristics of autism.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 17, 565–576.
Blishen, B. R., & McRoberts, H. A. (1976). A revised socioeconomic index for occupations in Canada.Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 13, 71–79.
Bray, J. M., & Maxwell, S. E. (1982). Analyzing and interpreting significant MANOVA's.Review of Educational Research, 52, 3340–3367.
Bristol, M. M. (1987). Mothers of children with autism or communication disorders: Successful adaptation and the double ABCX model.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 17, 469–486.
Bristol, M. M., Gallagher, J. J., & Schopler, E. (1988). Mothers and fathers of young developmentally disabled and nondisabled boys: Adaptation and spousal support.Developmental Psychology, 24, 441–451.
Bristol, M. & Schopler, E. (1983). Stress and coping in families of autistic adolescents. In E. Schopler & G. B. Mesibov (Eds.),Autism in adolescents and adults (pp. 251–278). New York: Plenum Press.
Crnic, K. A., Friedrich, W. N., & Greenberg, M. T. (1983). Adaptation of families with mentally retarded children: A model of stress, coping, and family ecology.American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 88, 125–138.
DeMyer, M. K. (1979).Parents and children in autism. Toronto: Wiley.
DeMyer, M. K., Hingtgen, J. N., & Jackson, R. K. (1981). Infantile autism reviewed: A decade of research.Research Bulletin, 7, 388–491.
Friedrich, W. N., Greenberg, M. T., & Crnic, K. (1983). A short-form of the questionnaire on resources and stress.American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 88, 41–48.
Hill, R. (1949).Families under stress. New York: Harper.
Holroyd, J. (1974). The Questionnaire on Resources and Stress: An instrument to measure family response to a handicapped family member.Journal of Community Psychology, 2, 92–94.
Holroyd, J. (1982).Manual for the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress. Los Angeles: UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.
Holroyd, J. (1987).Manual for the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress for families with chronically ill or handicapped members. Brandon, VT: Clinical Psychology.
Holroyd, J. (1988). A review of criterion validation research on the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress for families with chronically ill or handicapped members.Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44, 335–354.
Holroyd, J., Brown, N., Wikler, L., & Simmons, J. Q. (1975). Stress in families of institutionalized and non-institutionalized autistic children.Journal of Community Psychology, 2, 92–94.
Holroyd, J., & McArthur, D. (1976). Mental retardation and stress on the parents: A contrast between Down's syndrome and childhood autism.American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 80, 431–436.
Konstantareas, M. M. (1985).Stress and coping in parents. Paper presented at the National Conference on Autism, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Konstantareas, M. M. (1986). Early developmental backgrounds of autistic and mentally retarded children.Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 9, 671–688.
Konstantareas, M. M. (1989). After diagnosis, what? Some of the possible problems around diagnostic assessments in the case of autism.Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 34, 549–553.
Konstantareas, M. M. (1990). A psychoeducational model for working with families of autistic children.Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 16, 59–70.
Konstantareas, M. M. (1991). Autistic, learning disabled and delayed children's impact on their parents.Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 23, 358–375.
Konstantareas, M. M., & Homatidis, S. (1988). Stress and differential parental involvement in families of autistic and learning disabled children. In E. D. Hibbs (Ed.),Children and families: Studies in prevention and intervention (pp. 321–336). Madison: International Universities Press.
Konstantareas, M. M., & Homatidis, S. (1989). Assessing child symptom severity and stress in parents of autistic children.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 30, 459–470.
Levy-Schiff, R. (1986). Mother-father-child interactions in families with a mentally retarded young child.American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 91, 141–149.
Parks, S. L. (1983). The assessment of autistic children: A selective review of available instruments.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 13, 255–267.
Patterson, G. R. (1980). Mothers: The unacknowledged victims.Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development,45(5, Serial No. 186).
Rutter, M., & Schopler, E. (1987). Autism and pervasive developmental disorders: concepts and diagnostic issues.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 17, 159–186.
Salisbury, C. (1985). Internal consistency of the short form of the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress.American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 89, 610–616.
Salisbury, C. (1986). Adaptation of the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress—Short Form.American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 90 456–459.
Schopler, E., Reichler, R. J., DeVellis, R. F., & Daly, K. (1980). Toward objective classification of childhood autism: Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS).Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 10, 91–103.
Schopler, E., Reichler, R. J., & Renner, B. R. (1986).The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) for diagnostic screening and classification of autism. New York: Irvington.
Shea, V. (1986). Explaining mental retardation and autism to parents. In E. Schopler & G. B. Mesibov (Eds.),The effects of autism on the family (pp. 265–268). New York: Plenum Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported in part by a grant from the Ontario Mental Health Foundation #899/1982 in conjunction with the Provincial Lottery Funds. We thank Beth Macklin for her contribution to item selection and data collection and Hau Lei for statistical consultation. Special thanks to the participating parents for their candor, cooperation, and even enthusiasm for the project. Many sincere thanks are also extended to Jean Holroyd and to Clinical Psychology Publishing Company for generously providing the original scale, and for allowing us to publish items from it. To Eric Schopler and his collaborators many thanks for providing the Childhood Autism Rating Scale.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Konstantareas, M.M., Homatidis, S. & Plowright, C.M.S. Assessing resources and stress in parents of severely dysfunctional children through the Clarke modification of Holroyd's questionnaire on resources and stress. J Autism Dev Disord 22, 217–234 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01058152
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01058152