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Coping of parents with physically and/or intellectually disabled children
A Taanila1, L Syrjälä, J Kokkonen
1Academy of Finland, Department of Public Health Science and General Practice, University of Oulu. ATAANILA@CC.OULU.FI
Child: Care, Health and Development
|February 22, 2002
Summary
Families with disabled children use coping strategies like information, acceptance, and social support. Professionals can help by understanding these strategies and collaborating to support family adaptation.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Family Studies
- Disability Studies
Background:
- Families with children with physical and/or intellectual disabilities face unique challenges.
- Understanding coping mechanisms is crucial for supporting these families.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate coping strategies of families with disabled children.
- To differentiate between families with good and poor coping capacities.
- To identify factors influencing family coping.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative analysis using grounded theory.
- Interviews with parents of eight children (aged 8-10) with disabilities.
- Two in-depth interview sessions per family.
Main Results:
- Effective coping strategies include information seeking, acceptance, family cooperation, and social support.
- Half of the families demonstrated successful coping, while the other half experienced significant difficulties.
- Key differences between high- and low-coping families were observed in parents' initial experiences, personal characteristics, impact of disability on family life, daily functioning, and social support.
Conclusions:
- Findings can inform the development of targeted support services for families with disabled children.
- Recognizing families' coping strategies enables professionals to provide tailored assistance.
- Enhanced collaboration among physicians, nursing staff, and other professionals is vital for holistic family support.