Exploring the psychology of resilience: A narrative inquiry among parents of children with autism

• Main Author: Paguio, Dominic T.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2020
• Subjects: Resilience (Personality trait); Parents of autistic children—Philippines—Psychology; Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/11238
• Institution: De La Salle University

Having a child diagnosed with autism makes parenting even more challenging than what it already is. Surprisingly, some parents seem to thrive amid these challenges. This study explored the phenomenon of resilience from the narratives of fourteen Filipino parents who have one or two children diagnosed with autism. From the twelve stories narrated by the sample, the researcher did an analysis of the common themes that surfaced: stress experience, acceptance of their children’s condition, protective and vulnerable factors, quality parenting, adaptative responses, and thinking about the future. In sum, parental resilience could be characterized as a dynamic interaction process of learning and development, hence, a definition of parental resilience was proposed. Finally, the results of this study could serve as a framework for future parent-support programs of a holistic education approach.