Empowerment of Parents of Children with Disabilities: The Effect of Community and Personal Variables

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores empowerment among parents of children with disabilities. Specifically, it deals with how changes in parents' patterns of involvement and participation lead to empowerment. Parents of children with disabilities in Israel who are involved in voluntary organizations for the disabled were surveyed in relation to three components of empowerment: (a) family; (b) services; and (c) community. Four community variables–patterns of activity in organization, representation of the disabled and their families, participation in decision–making, and sense of belonging to the community–and two personal variables–self-esteem and mastery–were each found to affect at least one of the components of empowerment. The paper includes some recommendations for social workers with regard to the empowerment of parents of disabled children.