Coping Strategies and Caring Styles of Parents of Children With Mental Retardation (The Case of Four Parents)
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Date
2001-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The purpose of this study was generally to identify the condition of parental coping strategy
and caring styles toward their children with MR. Specificall y, it trie to identi fy and de cribe
parental coping strategies and caring styles toward the di sabling condition of their child with
MR and parenting that child with the objective of developing the cognitive quality of their
retarded children, respectively. Information! data about the four cases of the parents and their
coping and caring condition is collected mainly from mothers of the children with MR.
through interview and informal home observation methods. Two of the four cases of the
parents (Case 1 &4) had been out of Addis Ababa and were not getting educational services
for their children with MR during the past years though currently they are in the verge of
getting educational service at Kokebe Tsebah primary School, Addis Ababa, like the other
two cases-l &3 . A qualitative research design and analysis was appl ied to respond for the
statement of the problem, or the major research question of this study. SO, the findings of this
study is presented and analyzed accordingly. Parental coping resources types (e.g.
personality type or self esteem of the parents and other characteristics of the parents, their
disabled child and his/her disability) and other family factors (e .g. their interaction &
functional system and their attitude toward MR) and life experience of the parents with
professionals are a mediating factor of coping strategies toward disability and caring the
children with MR. For example, interview report in this study revealed that only one mother
of a female child with mild level of MR is currently more able to cope up positively with the
disability and behaviour problems of her child than ever before by consulting professionals
regarding the problems of her di sabled child. So, this mother is not always practicing physical
punishment against her disabled child as in the past though she practices it now rarel y. The
other child with moderate MR is still punished by her sister so that the child's mother is
always complaining about such a wrong action of the child's sister that made the child's
mother unable to cope up with it. Even though all parents try to teach their children with MR
at home, they are not as expected as to teach frequently their own retarded child at home and
to create a favorable environment to satisfy the educational needs of their retarded child at
home. The degree of direct involvement of the parents and other family members in teaching
their disabled children seems to vary according to the educational status of each cases of the
parents and the existence of sisters or brothers of a disabl ed child who can take the responsibility of teaching and caring their di abl ed child at hom . In add ition to thi , all
parents of the children with MR are not using enough teaching and play mat ri al and are
practicing the teaching process at home info rmally without r ce iving profe ional ervice or
supervision during the invo lvement of the parents in cari ng and teaching their retarded
children at home. Physical puni shment, not reinforcement, for the behavior probl em and
wrong acts of the children with MR in the proce s of carin g and teaching th e child is more
usually practiced against the female children with MR than against the male children with
MR .. Parents of male children with MR have also wish to send their children for in stitutional
care-which is the reflection of maladaptive coping strategy and being unab le to care tho e
children at home, properly. Since these physically abused children with MR are not perfect to
receive all the instructions told by their caretakers or their fa mily members, it was reported
that mother of the female child with mild MR and sister of the female child with moderate
level of MR. had practiced physical punishment against those female disabled children at
least once in a week in the past. Therefore, all parents of the children with MR (except Case
1) are not able to cope up positively with the disabling conditions of their children and to care
their children with MR properly and in teaching style.
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Keywords
Coping Strategies, Caring Styles