Young Adults with Disabilities and their Transitions to Adult Life and Services: A Sociocultural Analysis of Parents’ Perspectives on their Involvement

Abstract

This paper explores parents’ perspectives on their involvement in their children’s transitions to adult life and services in the context of young adults with disabilities in Norway. Based on semi-structured interviews, the accounts of seven parents were analyzed by applying a sociocultural framework. Informed by reflexive thematic analysis and considering personal, interpersonal, and cultural-institutional aspects of the parents’ accounts, six themes of parental involvement were generated. It was shown how these parents operate within current cultural norms and practices of prolonged, intensive and autonomy-supportive parenting, and how these practices can come into conflict with norms of increased youth independence practiced in demanding institutional transitions. The findings also illustrate how sociocultural practices of stigmatization and marginalization can pose a particular challenge for youth with disabilities and their parents. Finally, we argue that a contextualized conception of parental involvement could widen the space for collaboration between youth with disabilities, parents, and professionals.