Baines Susannah, Hatton Chris
Centre for Disability Research, School of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.
J Appl Res Intellect Disabil. 2015 Nov;28(6):524-35. doi: 10.1111/jar.12147. Epub 2015 Mar 30.
Faith in the lives of UK families with an adult with intellectual disabilities is an under-researched area with little existing literature. Research in the United States with Christian parents suggests that they draw on their faith for coping (Rogers-Dulan 1998) and for understanding (Skinner et al. 1999).
In this study, grounded theory methodology has been used to examine the impact on pre-existing parental faith of the birth of a child with intellectual disabilities from the perspective of parents who have parented their children to adulthood. Seventeen parents or couples took part in semistructured qualitative interviews about their faith.
The majority of parents after their child were diagnosed with intellectual disabilities went through a period of flux when they questioned the role of God in the disability.
The positive or negative connotations of the attempts at meaning-making did not impact on the eventual outcome for the parents. They eventually put such existential questions aside, accepted their child, and continued in their faith. The implications of the research for health professionals, church organizations and researchers are considered.
在英国，有成年智障子女的家庭中的信仰是一个研究不足的领域，现有文献很少。美国针对基督教父母的研究表明，他们借助信仰来应对（罗杰斯 - 杜兰，1998年）和理解（斯金纳等人，1999年）。
在本研究中，扎根理论方法被用于从将孩子养育至成年的父母的角度，考察智障儿童的出生对父母原有信仰的影响。17位父母或父母夫妇参与了关于他们信仰的半结构化定性访谈。
大多数孩子被诊断出患有智障的父母，在质疑上帝在残疾问题中所扮演角色时，都经历了一段动荡时期。
意义建构尝试的积极或消极内涵并未影响父母的最终结果。他们最终将此类存在主义问题搁置一边，接纳了自己的孩子，并继续坚守他们的信仰。文中还考虑了该研究对健康专业人员、教会组织和研究人员的启示。
