Physiological, psychological and sociological changes lead to alterations in body image. Previous studies have shown that pregnancy alters the body image of mothers of healthy babies; few have explored body image of mothers who have borne children with birth defects such as Down Syndrome.

In this study, two dimensions of body image, body attitude and body space perception were explored. The hypothesis postulated was that mothers of young children with Down Syndrome have lower body attitude scores than other mothers. The research question proposed was, do mothers of young children with Down Syndrome have a different perceived body space than other mothers?.

To test the hypothesis, a sample of 84 mothers between the ages of 21 and 45 was used; 42 mothers with young children with Down Syndrome were compared to 42 mothers of young children without any physical or mental problems. Both groups were matched for age, race, and family income of the mother, and sex, age and number of children.

Data were collected by trained female research assistants. Mothers completed a personal data form and had each of the two body image dimensions, body attitude and perceived body space measured with the Body Cathexis (BC) scale and the topographic device.

Results of the t test for the mean scores did not support the hypothesis or the research question. Mothers of young children with Down Syndrome had significantly higher body attitude scores than other mothers (t, 82, = 2.67, p =.009). Findings indicated no difference in the order in which the instruments were presented. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the demographic characteristics of the sample and to describe experiences of the mothers of young children with Down Syndrome. Data from these mothers provided rich information concerning the mothers' experiences of learning that their child had Down Syndrome. Analysis of variance revealed: (1) that mothers of young children with Down Syndrome who reported a previous significant loss (n = 18) had statistically higher BC scores than other mothers (F (1,29) = 4.4880, p =.0428). (2) Mothers of young children with Down Syndrome who reported no support group attendance (n = 9) had significantly higher BC scores (F (1,30) = 5.14, p =.0307) and lower topographic scores (F (1,30) = 4.7057, p =.0381) than other mothers.