Psychological Challenges among Parents of Children with Intellectual Disabilities enrolled in Center for Mentally Challenged Children: Implications for Counseling
| dc.contributor.advisor | Habtamu, Kasahun | |
| dc.contributor.author | Gebre Bireda, Nati | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2020-09-28T07:01:58Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-11-18T15:40:03Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2020-09-28T07:01:58Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-11-18T15:40:03Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2020-06 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The situations of individuals with disabilities have relatively received attentions globally and locally. The challenges faced by their parents are, however, often overlooked. This is particularly so in Ethiopia. Parents are the most immediate “significant-others” to a child with disability. This means parents are the most affected by the disability next to, of course, the child with disability. For parents, the birth of a child is a sign of faith and hope, a source of pride, etc. A child is everything to his/her parents. Any parent would normally have plans and expectations for their children. However, having a child with disability may often extinguish those aspirations. It often means losing the child parents wished to have. When a child with disability is born, parents go through the process of acknowledging this reality and embracing the child they were given. This processes however is not a ‘one-off’ event with a beginning and an end; but rather continues throughout one’s lifetime. As is the case with other types of disabilities, a child with intellectual disability is also often a source of disappointment rather than being considered equally human. This is particularly the case in traditional societies, like ours, where disabilities are usually associated with: superstitions, God’s punishment and/or, an unfortunate happening caused as a result of a parent’s genetic lineage, etc. A number of previous and related studies showed, among other things, that, in Ethiopia, having a child with disability is regarded as a source of shame, which usually leaves parents with significant psychological distresses. This calls for much research in Ethiopia to better understand how childhood disability—Intellectual Disability (ID), in particular—impact parents and families. The purpose of this study is therefore to investigate the psychological challenges of parents of children with intellectual disabilities, enrolled at Center for Mentally Challenged Children (CMCC), in Addis Ababa. The study in particulartries to learn (a) the major views and reactions of parents at the time of their children’s diagnosis; (b) the psychological challenges of the parents (c) other challenges and opportunities of having a child with IDs among parents; and (d) the coping mechanisms the parents in question employ to deal with these challenges. The study adopted a qualitative research design, as it provides an in-depth understanding and a rich description of the participants’ psychological problems. Six parents, 4 mothers and 2 fathers, were considered for the study, on the basis of theoretical saturation. Semi-structured interviews and FGDs were employed for data collection. The results were thematically categorized as: (i) views and reactions—which include initial reactions such as shock, denial, guilt, anxiety, sadness; (ii) psychological problems, i.e., concerns about child’s future, stress from managing the child, relationship strains, disappointment and sacrifices, inter-personal conflicts, being worried, sense of loneliness; (c) copying strategies, i.e., religion, social support, educating oneself about the disability, acceptance, appreciation; and other challenges (e.g., social negative views) and opportunities, i.e., understanding others, being non-judgmental, helping others, etc. These results have massive implications for structural (policy) and practical (services) interventions. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/12345678/22480 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.publisher | AAU | en_US |
| dc.subject | Parents are the most immediate “significant-others” to a child with disability. This means parents are the most affected by the disability next to, of course, the child with disability. For parents, | en_US |
| dc.title | Psychological Challenges among Parents of Children with Intellectual Disabilities enrolled in Center for Mentally Challenged Children: Implications for Counseling | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |