Impact of disability on the family structure.

The 1972 survey of the disabled and nondisabled provides comparative data on the two groups that can be used to assess the effects of disability on the family structure. Although the disabled were about as likely to have married as persons in the general population, the stability of their marriages was more limited. The extended families of disabled persons generally provided no greater support through financial or household assistance or visits than did the relatives of healthy persons. Within the nuclear family, contraction of activities--rather than compensatory shifts in sex roles--and decreased participation in most aspects of living were the major consequences of disability.