Exploring resilience from a parent's perspective: A qualitative study of six resilient mothers of children with an intellectual disability

Abstract

This article describes a study of the experiences of six resilient mothers of children with an intellectual disability from a phenomenological perspective, using a qualitative methodology. It includes a brief review of the literature on resilience, an explanation of how and why the six participants were chosen, and the type of questions they were asked.

In-depth interviews with the mothers were transcribed and analysed. The ten key themes that emerged from the data are described with an overriding statement defining the phenomenon of resilience as expressed by these six women. There is also some exploration of the implications of the findings for social work practice with families of people with an intellectual disability.

Key Words:

• intellectual disability
• phenomenology
• qualitative study
• resilient caregiver