ERIC Number: EJ848193
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1184-0412
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The Experience of Transformation in Parents of Children with Disabilities: Theoretical Considerations
Scorgie, Kate; Wilgosh, Lorraine; Sobsey, Dick
Developmental Disabilities Bulletin, v32 n1 p84-110 2004
Many parents assert that, despite the considerable and sustained stresses involved in parenting a child with a disability, their experiences have been personally transformative. Increasingly, researchers are advocating for a theoretical understanding of family life management following the diagnosis of disability in a child, with an emphasis on family strengths and resilience, attestations of positive or beneficial effects of parenting, and a wider range of possible parent and family outcomes, including transformation. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to explore the experience of transformation in parents of children with disabilities, based on concurrence between data from ongoing research with parents and broader theoretical assumptions on the nature and experience of life transformation, and to propose a model that identifies several critical processes that may facilitate transformation. Data from interviews with three parents of children with a range of disability characteristics are presented to support both the explanatory value of the model and its utility to practitioners. (Contains 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Family Life, Child Rearing, Disabilities, Parents, Parent Attitudes, Stress Variables, Coping, Family Environment, Interviews, Models, Identification (Psychology), Parent Child Relationship, Decision Making, Social Influences, Cultural Influences
J.P. Das Developmental Disabilities Centre. 6-102 Education North, University of Alberta, Edmonton AB T6G 2G5, Canada. Tel: 780-492-4505; Fax: 780-492-1318; Web site: http://www.ualberta.ca/~jpdasddc/bulletin/index.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
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Language: English
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