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Love and resistance of mothers with intellectual disability from ethnocultural communities in Canada
Author(s) -
Pacheco Laura,
McConnell David
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1468-3148
pISSN - 1360-2322
DOI - 10.1111/jar.12342
Subject(s) - intellectual disability , oppression , resistance (ecology) , intersectionality , schema (genetic algorithms) , narrative , psychology , gender studies , developmental psychology , sociology , political science , psychiatry , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , machine learning , politics , computer science , law , biology
Background Mothers with intellectual disability are thought to be passive, dependent and in need of protection. This study contributes to a nascent body of research that challenges this schema, revealing how women with intellectual disability who are mothers resist oppression. Methods Narrative research methods underpinned by intersectionality theory were used to explore the lives of eight mothers with intellectual disability from various ethnocultural communities in Canada. A total of 33 in‐depth interviews were conducted with these eight women over a period of 2 years. Results The lives of the women who took part in this study were marked by violence. The women resisted. Their resistance strategies addressed two kinds of relationships: their relationships with others and their relationship with themselves. Conclusion The women in this study employed strategies of resistance, sometimes at great personal cost, to provide their children with a better life.