ABSTRACT
This chapter presents preliminary findings from an ongoing investigation of parenting in African American and Latina mothers of children with mental retardation. It examines the relationship of social context factors, variables of stress as defined by the women, and levels of social support experienced by these women as they attempt to address their children's special needs. The chapter highlights issues of informal and formal social support as presented by mothers who participated in focus group interviews. An opportunity to study the interaction of culture, ecological influences, and social supports became available in summer 1993. Comparisons of minority women to White women or comparisons of lower-status women to higher-status women lead to incorrect conclusions. The literature on social supports is a gendered literature. It is seen as women’s work. It is a type of human capital. Among nonminority families of children with developmental delays, informal supports have a stronger influence on parental well-being than formal supports.
