Differences in the Perception of Leisure Satisfaction: Comparing Mothers and Fathers of Children with Disabilities

Objective. The purpose of this study is to identify the differences in leisure satisfaction between mothers and fathers of children with disabilities. Background. There is evidence that shows a decrease in leisure participation among parents of children with various disabilities. Findings from this pilot study can help identify what interventions are most effective when dealing with a mother or a 22 father who are caring for a child with a disability. Methods. This study’s design is a descriptive correlational of two groups, mothers of a child with a disability and fathers of a child with a disability. The target population includes caregivers of children with a diagnosed disability. The inclusion criteria consist of being a primary caregiver who has full or partial custody of a child with a disability. Snowball technique will be used to recruit approximately 50 subjects. Leisure satisfaction will be measured using the short form of the Leisure Satisfaction Scale (called the Leisure Satisfaction Measure). This tool measures six subscales of leisure using twenty-four items. Gender is the independent variable, and leisure satisfaction is the dependent variable measured with a Likert scale. Plan for analysis includes description of the sample using descriptive statistics, frequency data and Spearman Rank Order correlation.