Adaptation to Disability by the Wives of Spinal Cord Males - A Phenomenological Approach

1984 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances A. Vargo
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Physical Disability ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Adaptation Process ◽  
Rehabilitation Psychology ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Spinal Cord Injured

This study investigated the process of adaptation to physical disability by the spouses of the disabled. Ten women, whose husbands had become spinal cord injured after their marriage, were interviewed using an open-ended questionnaire format. Sixteen major themes emerged from the content analysis of the interviews, which was performed using the phenomenological methods of Giorgi (1975) and Collier and Kuiken (1977). Discussion focuses on three areas: (1) the major themes, (2) six factors identified as influencing the outcomes of the adaptation process, and (3) the changes experienced by the participants. These were examined and discussed so as to illuminate the need for services for the non-injured family members. Implications of the study for rehabilitation psychology are discussed and suggestions made for future research endeavors.

Happiness and Resilience Following Physical Disability

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana S. Dunn ◽  
Gitendra Uswatte ◽  
Timothy R. Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Problem Behaviors ◽  
Physical Disability ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Psychological Consequences ◽  
Rehabilitation Psychology ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Positive Growth ◽  
Restricted Mobility

Restricted mobility, activity, or physical loss can have psychological consequences, so that some individuals report a variety of depressive symptoms and problem behaviors following disability onset. Yet many people with disabilities adjust to their circumstances reasonably well. The focus of this chapter is on those who exhibit positive reactions to living with disability. Our discussion is grounded in the theoretical and empirical perspectives of positive psychology; the constructive, person–situation focus of rehabilitation psychology; and the approaches emerging from the synergy of both research areas. Positive psychology emphasizes three foci: subjective states, individual processes, and the creation and maintenance of positive social institutions that facilitate participation in personal and social activities. We consider the first two foci by examining happiness, and then resiliency and positive growth. We then consider the implications of our review for future research and therapy.

scholarly journals Experiences of mothers of disabled children: a phenomenological study

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Angélica Marcheti Barbosa ◽  
Massae Noda Chaud ◽  
Maria Magda Ferreira Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Disabled Children ◽  
The World ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
The Impact

OBJECTIVE: To unveil the experiences of mothers of disabled children, with a view to understand the meaning of that experience. METHODS: This is a qualitative study using phenomenological approach based on Heidegger. The study subjects were five mothers with a disabled child. The interviews were performed at the women's homes, guided by the question "To you, what does it mean to have a disabled child? RESULTS: Five categories came into focus: "meeting one's actual infant," "the impact of disability," "treading a new path with one's disabled child," "experiencing maternal altruism in the care of the disabled child," and "altering one's family daily life." CONCLUSIONS: The discourses revealed emotionally moved beings experiencing a painful, sorrowful manner of being-in-the-world. Mothers find themselves unprepared to deal with the experience of having a disabled child, though perceiving the situation as an opportunity for self-encounter. Changes occurred to the couple's dynamics and family members became distant. When seeking guidance from health professionals, the mothers failed to find the necessary support.

Happiness, Resilience, and Positive Growth Following Physical Disability: Issues for Understanding, Research, and Therapeutic Intervention

2009 ◽  
pp. 650-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana S. Dunn ◽  
Gitendra Uswatte ◽  
Timothy R. Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Physical Disability ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Body Part ◽  
Limb Amputation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Rehabilitation Psychology ◽  
Positive Growth

Do well-being and happiness change following acquired physical disability? The onset of physical disability occurs due to trauma or disease, either of which can mean a reduction in function (e.g., activities of daily living) or the literal loss of a body part (e.g., limb amputation). Restricted mobility, activity, or physical loss can have psychological consequences, so that some individuals report a variety of depressive symptoms and problem behaviors following disability onset. Yet many people with disabilities do not suffer from depression or behavioral difficulties; rather, they adjust to their circumstances reasonably well. Following the onset of disability and subsequent rehabilitation, then, many individuals report relatively favorable levels of subjective well-being (SWB) and happiness, and that they take pleasure in daily life, including work, play, and interactions with family and friends. The focus of this chapter is those individuals who exhibit positive reactions to living with disability. We hope that products and insights from their positive responses can develop new or revised existing therapies to promote the health and well-being of others, the goal of rehabilitation psychology. Our discussion is grounded in the theoretical and empirical perspectives of positive psychology; the constructive, person-situation focus of rehabilitation psychology; and the approaches emerging from the synergy of both research areas. Positive psychology emphasizes three complementary foci: subjective states, individual processes, and the creation and maintenance of positive social institutions. Against the backdrop of acquired physical disability, we consider the first two foci by examining happiness and then resiliency and positive growth. We then consider the implications of our review for future research and therapy.

Explicating dimensions of family marginalization and types of marginalized family members

2021 ◽  
pp. 026540752110039
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Dorrance Hall ◽  
Steven R. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Social Identification ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Confirmation Theory ◽  
Relational Distance ◽  
Survey Responses

Marginalized family members feel different from and are often disapproved of or excluded by multiple family members. These feelings arise from interactions that create relational distance. Although being marginalized from one’s family typically is a chronically stressful process, the ways in which marginalization is accomplished likely varies across individuals, families, and/or time. Guided by social identification and confirmation theories, we sought to identify specific types of marginalized family members based on three dimensions of marginalization: difference, disapproval, and exclusion. Cluster analysis of survey reports ( N = 315) revealed that marginalized family members can be grouped into three types: dissenting, questioning, and diverging. Content analysis of open-ended survey responses was used to name and further distinguish the types of marginalized family members. The types vary in perceived levels of family confirmation, family identification, and self-esteem. Theoretical implications for elaborating aspects of SIT and confirmation theory and understanding family distancing are discussed along with avenues for future research.

scholarly journals Health and beauty portrayals in youth-targeted print magazine advertising : where does the disabled body fit?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Siu
Keyword(s):  
Physical Disability ◽  
Qualitative Interview ◽  
Educational Programs ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Semiotic Analysis ◽  
Physically Disabled ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Media Reception

Using a visual semiotic analysis and qualitative interview of physically disabled individuals, this study evaluates the definitions and representations of beauty in the "Western" context in relation to, and contrasting portrayals of, physical disability in mainstream magazine advertising. The study finds a lack of representation of disability in advertising, with persistent implications that being physically different is associated with unattractiveness and, therefore, social undesirability. Directions for future research in advertisement portrayals, media reception, and the development of educational programs are presented.

scholarly journals Health and beauty portrayals in youth-targeted print magazine advertising : where does the disabled body fit?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Siu
Keyword(s):  
Physical Disability ◽  
Qualitative Interview ◽  
Educational Programs ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Semiotic Analysis ◽  
Physically Disabled ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Media Reception

Using a visual semiotic analysis and qualitative interview of physically disabled individuals, this study evaluates the definitions and representations of beauty in the "Western" context in relation to, and contrasting portrayals of, physical disability in mainstream magazine advertising. The study finds a lack of representation of disability in advertising, with persistent implications that being physically different is associated with unattractiveness and, therefore, social undesirability. Directions for future research in advertisement portrayals, media reception, and the development of educational programs are presented.

Rehabilitation of Spinal Cord Injured: A Family Approach

1978 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 69-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grady P. Bray
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Family Involvement ◽  
Adaptation Process ◽  
Post Injury ◽  
Family Approach ◽  
The Family ◽  
Warm Springs ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Spinal Cord Injured

The impact of severe injury and disability extends beyond the. injured person to the family, friends and general society. One group of severely disabled, the spinal cord injured, increases at an estimated 10,000 cases per year. These clients have been difficult and expensive to rehabilitate. To meet the needs of hard-pressed rehabilitation programs, new concepts and approaches to rehabilitation must be researched. One response to these needs is the use of the family as an adjunct to the rehabilitation process. A family involvement program for spinal cord injured, developed at Georgia Warm Springs Rehabilitation Complex, Warm Springs, focuses on both process and outcome variables in four major areas: medical, social, psychological and vocational.A four stage adaptation process was identified during work with spinal cord related patients. The initial stage, Anxiety, usually occurs within the first nine months post injury; the second stage, Accommodation, occurs between the tenth and twenty-fourth months; and the third stage, Assimilation, occurs after the second year and continues for a lifetime. A fourth stage, Reflux, can occur at any time and is a regression to an earlier stage.Allowing sufficient time for the adaptation process is essential if vocational rehabilitation is to become more effective with the spinal cord injured. An analysis of time post injury and successful completion of vocational evaluation and/or training (E/T) programs indicates patients injured longer than one year at entry into the programs have a greater probability of completing E/T than do patients injured less than one year at the time of admission to the programs.This research was sponsored in part by Grant #12-P-57897 from the Rehabilitation Services Administration, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Washington, D.C.

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