A Contextual Analysis of Caregivers of Children With Disabilities

Abstract

When a child is born with a disability, the caregiver's life is altered. With the numerous challenges caring for a child with disability brings, caregivers may feel devastated. These challenges often result in increased stress on the caregiver, which, in many cases, places the child at risk for maltreatment. The purpose of this study is to explore issues a caregiver faces when caring for his or her child. In this contextual analysis, seven caregivers of children with moderate-to-severe disabilities completed a questionnaire, were interviewed individually, and assisted the researcher in constructing an ecomap of their current living environment. Content from the interviews was analyzed and several themes developed from the data. Implications for clinical practice and future research ideas are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Stress and coping
• ecology
• qualitative research
• disabilities
• relationships

Notes

At the time this article was written the author was a doctoral candidate at Texas Woman's University, Denton, Texas, in the School of Occupational Therapy.

The author extends appreciation to the caregivers in this research who were excited to The author extends appreciation to the caregivers in this research who were excited to of Occupational Therapy at Texas Woman's University (Gayle I. Hersch, PhD, OTR; Evelyn Andersson, PhD, OTR; Sally Schultz, PhD, OTR, LPC; and Cathy Candler, PhD, OTR). My thanks go also to outside reviewers Rose Marie Penzerro, PhD; Emily Shultz, PhD, OTR; and Celia Shultz, PhD, OTR.