Resilience in families raising children with disabilities and behavior problems.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the resilience displayed by families raising children with disabilities and behavior problems. The question is why do some families do well when others, exposed to similar stressors, struggle to keep their family life running? A stratified (by child age group) random sample of 538 families raising children with disabilities in Alberta, Canada took part. Participants completed the Family Life Survey, which incorporated measures of child behavior problems, social-ecological resources and family-level 'outcomes'. Families raising children with disabilities and behavior problems 'do well' under conditions of high social support and low financial hardship. In contrast, families with low levels of social support and high levels of financial hardship typically struggle, even when the number or intensity of child behavior problems is low. The study findings are consistent with the view that 'resilience' has more to do with the availability and accessibility of culturally relevant resources than with intrinsic, individual or family factors. With respect to family-level outcomes, strengthening social relationships and ameliorating financial hardship may be more important than behavior modification.
Family and Disability Studies Initiative, Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, 3-66 Corbett Hall, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2G4. Electronic address: david.mcconnell@ualberta.ca.
David
D
McConnell
Family and Disability Studies Initiative, Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, 3-66 Corbett Hall, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2G4. Electronic address: amsavage@ualberta.ca.
Amber
A
Savage
Gender, Family, & Policy Studies, Human Ecology, University of Alberta, 330 Human Ecology, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2N1. Electronic address: rhonda.breitkreuz@ualberta.ca.
Rhonda
R
Breitkreuz
D000293:Adolescent; D000416:Alberta; D002547:Cerebral Palsy; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D008297:Male; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020954:Single-Parent Family / Q000523:psychology; D012923:Social Class; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support
Behavior problems; Disabilities; Family; Resilience; Social ecology