Abstract
BackgroundIdentifying what parents describe to be positive about parenting their child who has intellectual disabilities is important for professional practice and how parents can be supported over a lifespan.MethodsStudies in which parents describe the positive aspects of parenting their child with intellectual disabilities were identified via electronic databases searches and analysed in a narrative synthesis.ResultsTwenty‐two studies were included. Consistent themes emerged relating to positive change, increased personal strength, growth and development largely related to parental intrapersonal orientation. Several studies emphasized that the presence of growth or positive change does not imply the absence of distress.ConclusionsPositive aspects are not consistently defined and measured differently across studies. Consistent themes are described variously attributed to theories relating to coping, adaptation or growth following adversity; however, no single theoretical framework emerged. Factors likely to predict a parent's ability to identify positive aspects are inconclusive.
Highlights
Identifying what parents describe to be positive about parenting their child who has intellectual disabilities is important for professional practice and how parents can be supported over a lifespan
The aim of this review is to identify what parents describe to be posi‐ tive about parenting a child with intellectual disabilities by undertak‐ ing a systematic review and narrative synthesis of primary research
There is an existing body of evidence about the positive aspects of caring, but this is the first systematic review to critically examine what parents describe to be positive about parenting their child who has intellectual disabilities
Summary
Identifying what parents describe to be positive about parenting their child who has intellectual disabilities is important for professional practice and how parents can be supported over a lifespan. Most research on parenting a child with an intellectual disability is typically framed within a stress‐coping paradigm in which the child (or their characteristics) is “the stressor” and a the parent or family is reported as coping with a negative impact or burden from the child's impairment(s) (Hastings, Daley, Burns, & Beck, 2006; McConnell & Savage, 2015) This includes higher overall levels of poor physical, mental health and mental well‐being compared to parents of typically developing children (NHS England et al, 2016) with these poor outcomes increasing with the dura‐ tion and intensity of the “caring” role (DOH, 2010; Neece & Baker, 2008). These parents face socio‐economic disadvantage which includes increased risk of poverty, stigma and social exclusion (Emerson, 2012; Emerson & Hatton, 2014; Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2016).
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