Resilience factors in parents of children with an intellectual disability: hope and locus of control
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Date
27/11/2015Author
McCool, Louise Claire
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Abstract
Aims
There is an increasing focus on factors associated with resilience in parents of
children with disabilities. Two such resilience factors are hope and locus of control.
This thesis aimed to review the existing literature on hope and its relationship to
psychological outcomes, in parents of children who have a disability. A research
study aimed to explore relationships between two resilience factors, hope and
locus of control, and their links with knowledge of behavioural principles and
challenging behaviour.
Methods
To address the first aim, a systematic review of the literature was conducted for
hope (operationalised using Snyder’s model of hope). Nine online databases were
systematically searched using a set of pre-defined criteria. Eligible papers were
rated for quality using an established tool (SIGN, 2008) adapted for this review.
Secondly, a cross-sectional research study sampled mothers of children with an
intellectual disability (N=32) who completed four self-report measures online: State
Hope for the Child Scale (based on the State Hope Scale), Parental Locus of Control
Scale (child control and parental control subscales), Behavior Problems Inventory
for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities – Short Form, and the Knowledge of
Behavioural Principles Questionnaire (KBPQ), which was developed for the study.
Results
The systematic review identified 11 papers; three were rated as good quality, seven
rated as fair quality and one rated as poor. Studies included participants whose
children had a range of disabilities. Participants in the following groups were overrepresented:
white, middle to high socio-economic status mothers, educated to
college or graduate degree level and who self-selected to participate. For all
studies, mean hope was higher than the median value for each scale used,
suggesting the presence of hope in most parents. Hope was positively associated
with a range of variables, such as, quality of life, and negatively associated others,
including stress. There were differences in the interactions between hope
components of agency and pathways, and psychological variables. There were also
differences between how maternal and paternal hope related to psychological
variables.
The characteristics of those recruited to the research study mirrored those found in
previous research. The majority of participants were married/cohabiting mothers,
living in areas of higher socio-economic status, and caring for a child with a
moderate or severe ID. In addition, there was a higher incidence of children with
autism spectrum disorder in this sample. Mothers reported feeling hopeful,
although they experienced a range of challenging behaviours (mean 14.6
behaviours per child). Due to poor psychometric properties of the KBPQ, data was
not included in the analysis; however, some areas of strength and weakness in
knowledge were evident. Correlational analysis showed that higher levels of
resilience factors were associated with lower levels of self-injurious and
aggressive/destructive behaviour. Stereotyped behaviour was not associated with
either hope or locus of control. In contrast to previous research, higher hope was
associated with a more external locus of control for the child control subscale.
Conclusions and implications
Hope is an established resilience factor in the general population. Findings from
both the systematic review and research study suggest that hope is present in
parents and caregivers of children with a disability. The systematic review
demonstrated consistent adaptive relationships between hope and psychological
variables. This highlights hope’s role as a resilience factor in parents of children with
a disability. The research study added to the literature on how maternal hope and
locus of control inter-relate in this population. Generalisability of study results was
limited by sample size, population characteristics and by scales used. However,
overall findings suggest that it would be beneficial to consider resilience factors
when planning and evaluating interventions and research. Furthermore, examining
specific aetiologies of disability, such as ASD, might also clarify whether these affect
the relationships between hope and other psychological variables.
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