Journal of Applied Psychological Research

Phenomenology of Lived Experience of Mothers of Children with Down Syndrome (DS)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD Student, psychology & Educational Science Faculty, University of Tehran,Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, psychology & Educational Science Faculty, University of Tehran,Tehran, Iran

3 Professor, psychology & Educational Science Faculty, University of Tehran,Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The present study aimed at probing the phenomenology of lived experiences of mothers of children with Down syndrome. The study employed a qualitative approach on the based of phenomenological method. Sixteen participants were selected via a purposive sampling method from a population of mothers of students with Down syndrome in schools of children with special needs in Isfahan. The research instruments employed to collect data was the semi-structured interviewing technique. Interviews were listened to several times and their text was literally transcribed. To analyze the data, the Colaizzi method was used. After extracting the subjects and categorizing them, the findings included four main categories (impact on family, community status, parental concerns, and supportive networks) and 11 sub main themes. The relationship between these main themes and sub-themes was presented in the original article. Investigating the lived experiences of mothers of children with Down syndrome indicated that this group was affected by this phenomenon in a variety of ways, and these effects included positive and negative dimensions. The results of this research and similar studies can be used to develop therapeutic and educational interventions.

Keywords

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Journal of Applied Psychological Research
Volume 10, Issue 2
August 2019
Pages 105-118
  • Receive Date: 08 March 2018
  • Revise Date: 04 June 2018
  • Accept Date: 18 July 2019
  • First Publish Date: 23 August 2019
  • Publish Date: 23 August 2019