Occupational Balance Among Parents of Typically Developing Children and Parents of Children With Disabilities

Importance: Parenting may influence perceptions of occupational balance (OB), particularly among parents of children with disabilities (PCWD).

Objective: To compare OB among PCWD and parents of typically developing children (PTDC), identify potential predictors of OB, and examine the association between OB and family quality of life (FQOL).

Design: Cross-sectional group-comparison design.

Setting: Two hospitals under the Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar. Data were collected between November 2020 and February 2021.

Participants: PCWD attending occupational therapy clinics and PTDC from the hospital staff and their relatives were recruited through convenience sampling. Participants were 89 PCWD and 89 PTDC, of whom 38% spoke Arabic, and 62% spoke English.

Outcomes and measures: The revised 11-item Occupational Balance Questionnaire and the short version of the Family Quality of Life Survey-2006 were used to measure outcome variables. An investigator-developed demographic survey was used to collect information on independent variables. All data collection forms were available in English and Arabic. The hypothesis was generated before data were collected.

Results: Statistically significant but marginal differences were found in OB between PTDC and PCWD (M difference = 1.87, p = .02; 95% confidence interval [0.331, 3.339]). A moderate association existed between OB and FQOL among PCWD (r = .57, p = .001) and PTDC (r = .31, p = .003).

Conclusions and relevance: Occupational therapists working with families of young children may find it helpful to assess OB and address OB-related issues to facilitate better FQOL. What This Article Adds: Parenting young children affects OB regardless of the disability status of the child. Role satisfaction and spousal support are possible intervention targets to improve OB and thereby improve FQOL.