The presented material is empirical. It was based on the comparative analysis of data obtained with the use of the Marital Success Scale and the Parental Attitudes Scale, both developed by M. Braun-Gałkowska. The aim of the work was to carry out pedagogical analysis of the functioning of mothers raising children with special needs. The research was carried out in a population of 48 families: 20 families raising children with special needs due to diagnosed Down syndrome, Asperger syndrome, autism and infantile cerebral palsy, and 28 families raising healthy children, with no significant mental and physical health disorders. The obtained results were used to determine differences between the studied mothers. Mothers experiencing difficult parenting based on the results of the Marital Success Scale displayed a lower level of satisfaction with their marriage. Analysis of Parental Attitudes Scale scores on parenting attitudes revealed that mothers experiencing difficult parenting attributed inadequacy to themselves, while their husbands were attributed moderation in demands on their own children. In the case of marital attitudes, no statistically significant differences were found.

Results of some research performed in Poland have evidenced a relation between the aggressive behaviour of adolescents and the parental attitude perceived by them as improper. According to the results of the earlier studies of authors, significant differences were observed between the levels of aggression manifested by girls and boys and in certain dimensions the aggression of adolescent girls was higher than that of boys. Recently study was undertaken to check the stability of differences related to the sex and aggressive behaviour of adolescents. The research was conducted twice. First in the year 2002 (stage I) and again after 10 years in 2013 (stage II). The data for analysis were collected in the Questionnaire of Perception of Parental Attitudes composed by Plopa and the Questionnaire on Aggressive Behaviour prepared by Wójcik. At the stage I the subjects were 86 young people (56 girls and 30 boys) aged 17 – 19, and in stage II, in 2013, the subjects of the study were 80 adolescents (40 girls and 40 boys) aged 17 – 19. The comparative analysis of the results from 2002 and 2013 has shown a limited stability of relation between the perception of parental attitudes as improper and aggressive behavior of adolescents as well as sexual differentiations of aggressive behavior.

The subject of the study is the analysis of relations between the sense of coherence (SOC) in adolescents and their perception of parental attitudes and support received from both parents. The dependence between the level of SOC in adolescents and parents’ education and material status of the family have also been taken into account. The study group consisted of 105 people aged 17–18, boys and girls – secondary school pupils. The obtained results confirm a considerable part of the assumptions included in the hypotheses indicating the existence of a significant dependence between the rejection attitude of both parents and SOC, demanding an attitude of both parents and a protective attitude of father and SOC. The dependence between global, information and instrumental support received from mothers and SOC and between emotional support from fathers and SOC were confirmed. However, it turned out that loving and liberal attitudes of both parents do not show any relation with SOC. No dependence was found between evaluative support and the level of the sense of coherence in adolescents. The study shows that the education of both parents and the material status of the family are of significant importance in forming the level of SOC.