Coping with Stressful Behaviour of Autism: Voices of Lusaka Parents, Zambia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58421/gehu.v3i1.148Keywords:
Coping strategies, Parents, Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, experiences, LusakaAbstract
This was a hermeneutical phenomenological qualitative study of the coping strategies parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) use to cope with the demanding behaviours of their children in the Lusaka district – in Zambia. Parents, as key caregivers of children with disabilities, are likelier to develop unhappiness and worry than parents of classically developing children. Parental stress is usually associated with the severity of the ASD disorder. It was imperative to study how parents in Lusaka District coped with children with ASD daily. Interviews were used to collect data. Ten (10) parents of children with ASD were purposively selected to participate in the study. Data analysis was done in themes that revealed extra worries for parents, caused mainly by a lack of information about ASD, especially before diagnosis. Parents adopted specific strategies to cope with their children's problematic behaviour in areas of social interaction. Further, parents require much assistance developing interaction between them and specialists to acquire support services regarding coping strategies for their children's behaviour
Downloads
References
M. K. Banja and K. K. Muzata, "Psychosocial experiences and coping strategies of parents of children with Cerebral Palsy in Zambia," J. Educ. Res. Child. Parents Teach., vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 310–324, 2021.
J. Baio et al., "Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years — Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2014," MMWR. Surveill. Summ., vol. 67, no. 6, pp. 1–23, Apr. 2018, doi: 10.15585/mmwr.ss6706a1.
B. Sivberg, "Family System and Coping Behaviors," autism, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 397–409, Dec. 2002, doi: 10.1177/1362361302006004006.
L. Wonani and K. K. Muzata, "Parenting and Educating Children with Autism: Lived Experiences of Lusaka Parents - Zambia," Int. J. Sci. Basic Appl. Res., vol. 48, no. 6 SE-Articles, pp. 20–36, Nov. 2019, [Online]. Available: https://gssrr.org/index.php/JournalOfBasicAndApplied/article/view/10458.
F. M. Alnemary, H. M. Aldhalaan, G. Simon-Cereijido, and F. M. Alnemary, "Services for children with autism in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," autism, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 592–602, Jul. 2017, doi: 10.1177/1362361316664868.
K. H. Chalwe, J. M. Mandyata, and S. Kasonde-Ng'andu, "Making A Case on Social Interaction of Parents of Children With Autistic Spectrum Disorders: A Study of Selected Compounds of Lusaka, Zambia," Eur. J. Educ. Stud., 2021, [Online]. Available: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:237951830.
T. T. Dyches, L. K. Wilder, R. R. Sudweeks, F. E. Obiakor, and B. Algozzine, "Multicultural Issues in Autism," J. Autism Dev. Disord., vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 211–222, Apr. 2004, doi: 10.1023/B:JADD.0000022611.80478.73.
B. A. Boyd, "Examining the Relationship BetWeen Stress and Lack of Social Support in Mothers of Children With Autism," Focus Autism Other Dev. Disabl., vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 208–215, Nov. 2002, doi: 10.1177/10883576020170040301.
D. Rafferty, L. Tidman, and N. V. Ekas, "Parenting experiences of fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder with or without intellectual disability," J. Intellect. Disabil. Res., vol. 64, no. 6, pp. 463–474, Jun. 2020, doi: 10.1111/jir.12728.
R. P. Hastings and E. Johnson, "Stress in UK Families Conducting Intensive Home-Based Behavioral Intervention for Their Young Child with Autism," J. Autism Dev. Disord., vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 327–336, 2001, doi: 10.1023/A:1010799320795.
K. K. Muzata, Special and Inclusive Education Provision in the Zambian Context. Zambia: UNZA Press, 2021.
D. E. Gray, "Coping over time: the parents of children with autism," J. Intellect. Disabil. Res., vol. 50, no. 12, pp. 970–976, Dec. 2006, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2006.00933.x.
J. J. Gallagher, P. Beckman, and A. H. Cross, "Families of Handicapped Children: Sources of Stress and its Amelioration," Except. Child., vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 10–19, Sep. 1983, doi: 10.1177/001440298305000102.
C. D. Hoffman, D. P. Sweeney, D. Hodge, M. C. Lopez-Wagner, and L. Looney, "Parenting Stress and Closeness: Mothers of Typically Developing Children and Mothers of Children With Autism," Focus Autism Other Dev. Disabl., vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 178–187, Sep. 2009, doi: 10.1177/1088357609338715.
A. M. Babatin, B. S. Alzahrani, F. M. Jan, E. H. Alkarimi, and M. M. Jan, "The availability of services for children with autism spectrum disorder in a Saudi population," Neurosciences, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 223–226, Jul. 2016, doi: 10.17712/nsj.2016.3.20150597.
E. Pisula and Z. Kossakowska, "Sense of Coherence and Coping with Stress Among Mothers and Fathers of Children with Autism," J. Autism Dev. Disord., vol. 40, no. 12, pp. 1485–1494, Dec. 2010, doi: 10.1007/s10803-010-1001-3.
B. Barrett et al., "Service and Wider Societal Costs of Very Young Children with Autism in the UK," J. Autism Dev. Disord., pp. 1–8, 2011, [Online]. Available: https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:189913429.
B. Ingersoll and A. Dvortcsak, "Including Parent Training in the Early Childhood Special Education Curriculum for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders," Topics Early Child. Spec. Educ., vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 179–187, Jul. 2006, doi: 10.1177/02711214060260030501.
K. Louise Barriball and A. While, "Collecting data using a semi‐structured interview: a discussion paper," J. Adv. Nurs., vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 328–335, Feb. 1994, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.1994.tb01088.x.
D. Harper and A. R. Thompson, Eds., Qualitative Research Methods in Mental Health and Psychotherapy. Wiley, 2011.
V. Macha, F. Simui, and K. K. Muzata, "Parents and Teachers Experiences of Managing Peculiar Psychosocial Behaviours of Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Selected Special Units in Lusaka, Zambia," Multidiscip. J. Lang. Soc. Sci. Educ., vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 16–42, 2020.
A. Dabrowska and E. Pisula, "Parenting stress and coping styles in mothers and fathers of pre‐school children with autism and Down syndrome," J. Intellect. Disabil. Res., vol. 54, no. 3, pp. 266–280, Mar. 2010, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01258.x.
D. L. Paulhus, "Two-component models of socially desirable responding.," J. Pers. Soc. Psychol., vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 598–609, Mar. 1984, doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.46.3.598.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Journal of General Education and Humanities

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.