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Mothers' voices: Coping with their children's initial disability diagnosis
Author(s) -
Bingham Ann,
Correa Vivian I.,
Huber Jennifer J.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/imhj.21341
Subject(s) - cognitive reframing , medical diagnosis , wishful thinking , coping (psychology) , psychology , social support , developmental psychology , qualitative research , variety (cybernetics) , clinical psychology , psychotherapist , social psychology , medicine , social science , pathology , artificial intelligence , sociology , computer science
For parents of infants and toddlers receiving a diagnosis of disability, a variety of responses may result. Yet, little is known about the specific ways families cope with the initial diagnosis. This qualitative study investigated 6 mothers' memories of their children's diagnoses. Mothers described their use of both palliative strategies (denying, questioning, and wishful thinking) and problem‐solving strategies (searching for information, seeking social support, reframing, and seeking spiritual support) to cope with their children's initial diagnoses. The results of this study may improve professionals' understanding of parents' need for information and support at the time of initial diagnosis.