Family Relationships and Behavioral Disorders. Resilient Resources for Quality of Life

This paper examines the situation of families with children having behavioral disorder with regards to aspects related to family relationships and couple dynamics. In fact, many international studies highlight the daily difficulties that a family has to face, above all related to the social impact of behavioral disorder (which has direct repercussions on the sense of parental self-efficacy and, consequently, on the planning skills and educational aspects of mothers and fathers) but also to the high level of stress affecting the couple. Survey data confirm parents of children with behavioral disorders report lower levels of marital satisfaction and are more likely to divorce. Analyzing some of the most recurrent parent-training interventions for children with behavior disorder, this work aims at investigating all these aspects in a pedagogical perspective, raising questions about the quality of life of parents and children and the opportunities to promote a high quality of interpersonal and resilient relationships in the family.