Resilience in Parents of Children with Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

The objective of this study was to understand the experience of parents of children with intellectual difficulties. In the context of a developing country where social services are minimal, the onus of a child’s development lies squarely with the parents. A total of 32 parents from Mumbai were asked to describe their experience of raising a special child. The narratives were analysed using the grounded theory method and the dominant themes with respect to resilience that emerged were acceptance, cognitive adaptation, positive affect (PA), social support and self-efficacy. Based on these themes a theoretical model, linking perception, cognition, emotion and behaviour in the development of resilience, has been proposed.