“It’s a lifeline”: Generating a sense of social connectedness through befriending parents of disabled children or children with additional need

Abstract

ObjectivesThis study explored the influence of a parent-to-parent peer support scheme on the wellbeing of parents of disabled children or children with additional need who joined a befriending scheme. MethodsA longitudinal concurrent mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) research design collected data (telephone interviews, Footsteps Tool, Resilience Scale-14) with 33 befriendees (1:1 or group support) and 33 befrienders at time-point 1 (TP1). TP2 data were collected from 20 befriendees and 16 befrienders 6–9 months after recruitment. ResultsThere was some improvement on average scores between TP1 and TP2 on both tools. The strongest evidence of change - ‘a sense of positivity and hope’ and ‘connection, belonging and sharing’ - was in the parents' reports of how the scheme helped them to build secure and valued social connections within a community of other parents who understood their lives. ConclusionBoth the befriendees and befrienders reported the sense of hope and a feeling of belonging as key benefits that resulted from the social connections they gained from the scheme. Practice implicationsSocial connectedness is likely to be a more useful concept than resilience in examining change.