Coping when a child has a disability: exploring the impact of parent-to-parent support

Summary Aim To explore the impact of parent‐to‐parent support when a child is born with a disability. Design The research approach was qualitative. Data were collected retrospectively and were derived from in‐depth interviews with parents. The audio‐taped interviews were transcribed and then analyse...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child : care, health & development health & development, 2000-07, Vol.26 (4), p.309-322
Main Authors: Kerr, S M, McIntosh, J B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adaptation
Adaptation, Psychological
Adolescent
Child
Child, Preschool
Coding
Coping
Coping strategies
Data Analysis
disability
Disabled Children
Family (Sociological Unit)
Female
Grounded Theory
Health Personnel
Humans
limb reduction defect (limb deficiency)
Male
parental support
Parents
Parents - psychology
Participant Observation
Phenomenology
Research Methodology
Retrospective Studies
Sampling
Selfhelp groups
Social Support
Special Needs Students
Stress, Psychological - psychology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Summary Aim To explore the impact of parent‐to‐parent support when a child is born with a disability. Design The research approach was qualitative. Data were collected retrospectively and were derived from in‐depth interviews with parents. The audio‐taped interviews were transcribed and then analysed using constant comparative procedures. Setting Scotland. Participants The parents of 63 children born with a congenital upper limb deficiency. Findings The early weeks and months following the birth of their baby was a difficult and emotional time for most parents. Feelings of isolation were common and there was a lot of concern about what the future would hold. Although a certain amount of support was derived from contact with family, friends and health professionals, parents did not generally obtain the level of support that was required from these sources. Contact with other parents of limb‐deficient children, however, clearly exerted a powerful stress‐buffering influence, providing much needed emotional, social and practical support. Conclusions This study suggests that parents of children with special needs are uniquely qualified to help each other. The challenge is to ensure that health professionals are aware of the potential benefits of parent‐to‐parent support and provide parents with information about appropriate local organizations/ contacts.
ISSN:0305-1862
1365-2214
DOI:10.1046/j.1365-2214.2000.00149.x