A theory of transformed parenting: parenting a child with developmental delay/mental retardation

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to examine the parenting process when a child has developmental delay including mental retardation (DD/MR). The sample consisted of parents (29 mothers, 13 fathers) of 31 children with DD/MR. A semistructured interview guide was used to collect data during 1- to 1.5-hour interviews. The basic social process of Transformed Parenting emerged from the data. Transformed Parenting consists of an initial entrance process and a subsequent ongoing performance process. The entrance process encompasses receiving the child's diagnosis and responding to the child's diagnosis. The performance process consists of three areas: reality construing processes, contextual processes, and operating processes. At the core of the reality construing process is construing reality loops, which describes the ongoing process of interpreting the child's problems.