Determinants of Resilience of Parents Having Children With Intellectual Disability

Abstract

newline xiv newlineABSTRACT newlineUnderstanding the resilience of parents is gaining importance in the field of intellectual disability as a process of making quality adaptations involved in raising a child with intellectual disability. Resilience was mostly studied as an outcome that flourished in the context of personal qualities. There is a paucity of evidence delineating resilience as a process. The present study investigated the determinants of resilience of parents. A sample of 121 parents belonging to three districts of Kerala were selected using multistage random sampling. They were assessed using personal and socio demographic data sheet, Connor Davidson Resilience Scale, Coping Strategies Screen, Marital Quality Scale, NIMH Disability Impact Scale, and Behavioral Assessment Scales for Indian Children with Mental Retardation, Part B. Correlations were observed between resilience and other study variables except for problem behavior of children. Regression analysis revealed that problem focused coping, extent of available services, negative impact of disability, positive impact of disability, marital quality, and emotional focused coping accounted for 58% of the variance in resilience of parents. High resilient parents had greater levels of positive predictors and lower levels of negative predictors compared to low resilient parents. The results indicate that the process of resilience involves child and disability related, intrapersonal, and socio-ecological risk and protective factors. The findings have specific applications in designing interventions for parents so as to foster their resilience.