Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cleft Lip ; psychology ; Cleft Palate ; psychology ; Disabled Children ; psychology ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Parents ; psychology

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop an empowerment program as a nursing intervention for mothers who care for a child with cerebral palsy at home and to determine the effects of the program on those mothers' self efficacy, coping behavior and burden. METHOD: An non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used in this study. An Empowerment program was developed based on Dunst & Trivette's model. Using the program, the study was carried out from Dec. 13, 2003 to Jan. 17, 2004, mothers whose children, aged 1 to 6, were outpatients of the Dept. of Rehabilitation Medicine, at P University Hospital or registered at educational institutions for early disabled children. The experimental group of subjects were included in the new empowerment program which was held for two and half hours every week for 6 times. RESULTS: After treatment with the Empowerment Program, the experimental group was found to be significantly increased in score for self efficacy(t=4.55, p<.01), coping behavior(t=5.54, p<.001), objective burden(t=-3.96, p<.01) and subjective burden(t=-5.05, p<.01), in comparison to the control group. CONCLUSION: The Empowerment Program is very effective in increasing self efficacy and coping behavior of mothers having a child with cerebral palsy and decreasing their burden. Finally, this study would recommend that an empowerment program should be extended to community facilities such as public health offices and welfare centers.
Self Efficacy ; Power (Psychology) ; Personal Autonomy ; Mothers/*psychology ; Humans ; Female ; *Disabled Children ; *Cost of Illness ; Child ; *Cerebral Palsy ; Adult ; *Adaptation, Psychological

PURPOSE: This study was done to develop a model which explains factors influencing caring behavior of mothers who have children with disabilities, and to verify the appropriateness of the model and the relationship among variables. METHODS: The participants in the research were the mothers who had a 3 to 12 yr-old children with disabilities. The data were collected from 451 mothers through self-reported questionnaires from July 14 to 31, 2008. A total of the 371 data sets were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 11.5 and AMOS 5.0 version. RESULTS: The children's behavior characteristics, social support, objective burden and parenting self-esteem had an impact on the mothers' caring behavior. Especially, parenting self-esteem including parenting satisfaction and self-efficacy was the most influential factor. These variables explained 77% of the mothers' caring behavior for these children. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that some strategies for promoting mothers' parenting self-esteem focused on parenting satisfaction and self-efficacy should be developed in order to help mothers in caring for their child who is disabled.
Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cognition ; *Disabled Children ; Female ; Humans ; Maternal Behavior ; *Models, Psychological ; Mothers/*psychology ; Parenting ; Questionnaires ; Self Concept ; Social Support ; Socioeconomic Factors

PURPOSE: This research was conducted to reveal Japanese mothers' changing perceptions towards their technology-dependent children in the home care setting. METHODS: Fourteen Japanese mothers participated in semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. RESULTS: "Degree of preoccupation with the child" emerged as the category representing the mothers' perceptions towards their child. Three categories emerged that represented the progression of maternal perceptions over time: "accepting the child's conditions", "mastering the management of care in various conditions", and "considering social participation for the child". CONCLUSIONS: First, mothers gradually accepted the conditions of their child after his/her disease and disability were known. Second, others managed technology-required care and concurrently considered the social participation of their child through daily care at home. Third, the level of preoccupation with the child was affected by the mothers' management of care and their attitude towards the social participation of their child in home care. In this study, as is widely alleged in historical recognition of Japan, mothers provided daily care almost without help from other family members. Additionally, they thought it natural and good for their children. Above all, especially in Japan, professional support for mothers are necessary so that they can take breaks from care.
Adaptation, Psychological ; Adolescent ; Adult ; *Attitude to Health ; Biomedical Technology ; Caregivers ; Child ; Child Advocacy ; Disabled Children/*psychology ; Female ; Home Care Services ; Humans ; Japan ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mother-Child Relations ; Mothers/*psychology ; Perception ; Personal Autonomy ; Self-Help Devices ; Young Adult

INTRODUCTIONIntellectual disabilities are as prevalent in East Asian countries as in the West (0.06%-1.3%). Widespread discrimination against intellectual disabilities in Asia may initiate stigma that places unfair restrictions on the social life of these individuals and their caregivers. We utilised established stigma frameworks to assess the extent to which a child's intellectual disability contributes to the social exclusion of caregivers in Vietnam.

METHODSA mixed quantitative and qualitative approach was employed to examine the experience of social life restriction among parents of children with intellectual disabilities. The child's disability level and restrictions on caregivers' social experiences were assessed among 70 mothers and fathers recruited from schools in Hue City, Vietnam. Qualitative responses describing social exclusion were also recorded.

RESULTSCaregivers reported elevated levels of social exclusion. As hypothesised, parents of children with greater intellectual disability experienced more restrictions on their social life (Beta = 0.79, 95% confidence interval 0.27-1.30, standard error = 0.26, p < 0.01). Qualitative analyses indicated that the threatening of core cultural norms (inability to be employed or married upsets community harmony) initiated labelling, social exclusion and efforts to keep the condition secret or withdraw from others.

CONCLUSIONThis study is among the first to demonstrate the impacts of intellectual disabilities on caregivers' social functioning in Asia. The findings illustrate how traditional Asian norms initiate stigma, which in turn restricts key social interactions among caregivers. Psycho-educational interventions may address the social domains in which caregivers are impacted and encourage sustained help-seeking among caregivers for their children.

Attitude to Health ; Caregivers ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Disabled Children ; Female ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability ; psychology ; therapy ; Male ; Parents ; Social Adjustment ; Social Behavior ; Social Stigma ; Social Support ; Stress, Psychological ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Vietnam

This study investigated dietary behavior and nutrient intake in children with developmental disorders as compared with non-disabled children and assessed the relationship between dietary behavior and nutrient intake. The survey was conducted on 118 students (4th and 5th grade) of four special education schools and 244 students of an elementary school (control group). The survey was carried out using a questionnaire and an interview. Of the disabled children, children with a mental disorder comprised 72.9% and those with emotional disorders including autism comprised 26.3%. The average percentages of height and weight to standards for age were significantly lower in the disabled female children as compared with the non-disabled female children. Scores for table utensil handling skills, eating behavior, and an unbalanced diet were lower in the disabled children compared with those in the non-disabled children. Dietary behavior scores were not significantly different by either gender or age in the disabled children. Mean energy intake was less than the estimated energy requirement in both groups. Nutrients taken at less than the recommended intake level were calcium, iron, vitamin A, and folate in both groups. Food behavior score at mealtime, personal hygiene score at mealtime, and an unbalanced diet score were significantly correlated with iron and vitamin A intake in disabled male children. Personal hygiene score at mealtime was significantly correlated with calcium, iron, and vitamin A intake, and unbalanced diet score was significantly correlated with iron and vitamin A intake in disabled female children. Although the nutritional status of disabled children with developmental disorders was appropriate in general, improvement in their dietary behaviors through education and practice would allow them to eat balanced diets with essential nutrients.
Autistic Disorder ; Calcium ; Child ; Diet ; Disabled Children ; Education, Special ; Energy Intake ; Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Folic Acid ; Handling (Psychology) ; Humans ; Hygiene ; Iron ; Male ; Meals ; Mental Disorders ; Nutritional Status ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Vitamin A