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. 2017 Dec;21(4):325-345.
doi: 10.1177/1744629516656073. Epub 2017 Feb 7.

Are parents identifying positive aspects to parenting their child with an intellectual disability or are they just coping? A qualitative exploration

Carole Beighton  1 , Jane Wills  2
Affiliations

Are parents identifying positive aspects to parenting their child with an intellectual disability or are they just coping? A qualitative exploration

Carole Beighton et al. J Intellect Disabil. 2017 Dec.

Abstract

Although acknowledging the stress of raising their child with intellectual disabilities, parents also report that their child has brought about many positive changes in themselves and family. This study reports what parents perceive to be a positive aspect of parenting their child, as currently what constitutes a 'positive' is unclear. Seven key themes were identified; an increased sense of personal strength and confidence, changed priorities, greater appreciation of life, pleasure in the child's accomplishments, increased faith/spirituality, more meaningful relationships and the positive effect that the child has on the wider community. Interpretive examination of the themes reveals that the positive aspects identified consist mostly of meaning-focused coping strategies. These enable parents to adapt successfully to the stressful experiences of raising their child and therefore could be amenable to meaning-focused therapeutic interventions for parents with newly diagnosed children or for those unable to identify any positive aspects of parenting their child.

Keywords: caring; intellectual disabilities; meaning-focused coping; positive aspects; positive reframing.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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