Kakoli Das & Satyananda Panda
Family is the basic unit of analysis that has always been intrinsic to research in the social world. A family is a safe and secure social set up for everyone, including the newborns especially when they are intellectually challenged. Living with Intellectually Disabled (ID) children mothers encounter problems associated with worries about the future, a lot of family adjustment, stress, and feeling of anxiety. The qualitative research design was used to understand the in-depth problems that affect mothers’ perceived quality of life, as a parent of a special child, and what are the obstacles they face. The sample size consisted of 20 mothers whose children had intellectually disability and they were aged 25-50 years (M=38.3, SD=7.4) from six different rehabilitation centers of Guwahati, Assam. They went through in-depth interview. ID children were diagnosed by qualified consultant psychiatrists and clinical psychologists by using the ICD-10 criteria and standardized intelligence tests. The mean IQ of the intellectually disabled (ID) children was 56.5. Analysis of qualitative data revealed that the quality of life of mothers has been affected. The problems experienced by mothers of intellectually disabled children were mostly associated with domains like physical health and well-being, behavioral and emotional well-being, social experience, interpersonal, intrapersonal relationships, and a family life adjustment. Overall results indicate that mothers experience greater challenges as a result their quality of life deteriorates. This study will help out the mothers to be awaken of their internal conflict so that they approach necessary steps for their well-being.
Key words: Physical, Psychological, Mothers, Disability, Intellectually, Adjustment, Children