Psychosocial Experiences Influencing Coping Mechanisms among Caregivers of Children with Severe Intellectual Disabilities in Special Schools of Jinja District, Uganda
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Date
2018-10
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tangaza University College
Abstract
With about seven billion total world population, there are almost one billion people having
disabilities. Children constitute 200 million of those with disabilities. Of the 200 million
children with disabilities, 80% live in developing countries most of which are in Sub-Saharan
Africa. Taking care of children with severe intellectual disabilities is a very taxing experience
for caregivers in Uganda. However, insight into caregivers’ individual experiences is scarce to
guide effective responses to their care needs. This study therefore explored the psychosocial
experiences influencing coping mechanisms among caregivers of children with severe
intellectual disabilities in Jinja district, Uganda. The study aimed at examining the psychosocial
experiences, establishing the coping mechanisms and assessing the psychosocial support for
caregivers. Although from the literature there are numerous studies conducted on psychosocial
experiences and coping mechanisms among caregivers, most of them have been conducted in
America, Europe and Asia. Uganda, one of the African countries south of the Sahara, with the
greater percentage of children living with disabilities, has had sparse studies exploring
psychosocial experiences influencing coping mechanisms among caregivers. The study was
informed by two theories: the stress-coping theory by Lazarus and Folkman, and the selfdetermination
theory
by
Deci
and
Ryan.
A
qualitative
phenomenological
research
design
was
employed.
The
study
used
purposive
sampling
to
select
the
participants.
The
target
population
of
this
study
was
170.
A
sample
of
20
participants
was
recruited
for
the
study.
The
research
instruments
used
were
interview
and
focus
group
discussion
schedules.
The study employed
thematic data analysis. The researcher conducted a pilot study with 2 participants who were
not part of the study to guarantee the reliability of the instruments. The findings of this study
indicated that caring for children with severe intellectual disabilities is beset with many negative
psychosocial experiences and a general lack of psychosocial support for caregivers by the
community or government. Therefore, this study recommends that caregivers of children with
severe intellectual disabilities be supported socially, psychologically and emotionally for their
better nurturing of such children. This study offers significant information for policy and
research, and works as a guide in developing intervention programs for caregivers of children
with severe intellectual disabilities by various stakeholders.
Description
Keywords
Psychosocial Experiences, Coping Mechanisms, Caregivers, Intellectual Disabilities, Emotion-focused coping, Psychosocial support systems