Maternal Resilience: Assets and Resources Utilized When Parenting Adolescents with Congenital Heart Defects

ECU Author/Contributor (non-ECU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)

Jordan P. Horn (Creator)

Institution

East Carolina University (ECU )

Web Site: http://www.ecu.edu/lib/

Abstract: Mothers of adolescents with congenital heart defects (CHD) , or those acquired during childhood , face unique parenting stressors. Using resiliency theory and family systems theory as theoretical frameworks , the current study aimed to understand how mothers of adolescents with CHD build resiliency. Mothers of adolescents with CHD ages (13-19 years) were recruited from nine healthcare or psychosocial service organizations serving children with CHD across the USA. Mothers (N=100) completed an online survey designed to measure their level of resilience , promotive factors of internal assets (specifically self-esteem , self-efficacy , and spirituality) , access to and utilization of promotive factors of resources (such as support networks , financial supports , or Internet resources) , as well as open-ended responses regarding their experience of parenting an adolescent with CHD. The Resilience Scale , General Self- Efficacy Scale , Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale , and Spiritual Insight and Behavioral Scale were utilized to measure assets and questions related to access and utilization of resources were developed. Analyses including descriptive statistics , one-way between groups ANOVAs , independent sample t-tests , and Pearson correlations revealed that maternal resilience scores were significantly associated with age of mother , self-efficacy scores , and access/utilization of specific resources such as psychosocial staff support , counseling or therapeutic support , and informal financial support. Maternal Resilience was also correlated with adolescent resilience scores as reported by the mother. Themes from open-ended responses such as definitions of resilience , desired resources , barriers to resources , and advice to other mothers reinforce the quantitative results. This study underscores the need for psychosocial and healthcare service providers to better understand maternal resilience , strengthen internal assets , provide external resources , and provide more targeted interventions for assistance with building their resilience.

Additional Information

Publication

Thesis

Language: English

Date: 2017

Keywords

assets, resources

Subjects

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